Rise Of The Ussr In Another World - Volume 1 Chapter 4 Prelude To A New Era

It took the group around half an hour to reach the hills, the horses were not as fast as Add expected them to be, but then again, he could not really compare these with those back on Earth. Back home those horses had better, more nutritious food, and science had told the trainers how to get most out of them, which was not the case here. Anyway not having to walk 20 kilometres was already a blessing enough. The area behind the town was largely forested, though the density of trees were less than, and the group followed a dirt road which went from the back of the town to the hills, and along the way they passed by two small villages which were among the few, located around Rigel . On his way, Add also delved more into his new memories. Although there were no clocks in this world, by his experience the past one day, he estimated that this world also had a 24 hour day, similar to Earth and followed a 30 day month system with 12 months in a year. It was quite the coincidence.

On the way as he looked at the various people and houses, he realised that this area was very underdeveloped. All houses were made of wood, and some were nothing more than shacks, even the town of Rigel itself could barely qualify to be called a town. It seemed that the Weismann family never really did manage to develop these lands. Of the four guards that were accompanying him, three were middle aged and one was a bit younger. They were wearing simple chainmail and had long swords strapped to their h.i.p.s. But the quality of the armour made Add doubt its utility as they were mostly tattered and appeared to have been repaired and patched many times.

The climate of this region was similar to the temperate regions of Earth. Right now it was the peak of summer, and still I was quite bearable. Part of it was because the region was locate at the foothills of the great dividing mountain range, as one moved east, the temperature increased considerably, giving way to the rainforests further east. The four men who accompanied him, were considered decent in terms of strength by his standards. They looked like Europeans back on earth, much like all the people he had seen around him after waking up in this world. As they reached their destination, He could see that the slopes of the hills were densely covered in forests. The group dismounted from their horses and one of the guards stayed behind to watch over the horses while the other three escorted Add.

This was the first time Add saw this place as his predecessor had never come here, he was too buisy enjoying life after all. That is part of the reason why he agreed o take the guards with him. He needed someone to guide him lest he run into danger unknowingly. The guards soon found a forest track and he followed after them, looking around and talking in as much details as he could. All along the forest path, he saw many insects, birds, small animals. Some were similar to the creatures he had seen on earth, while others were completely new to him. The plant life was even more varied, with tall hulking plants with gigantic leaves to thorny shrubs with strange flowers. The cacophony of the forest, caused by the chirping of millions of insects, distant roars of animals and coupled with the soft sounds of the leaves swaying in the gentle breeze, made a serene atmosphere in the forest. Add was enjoying the walk through the woods, but he was still cautious, lest something sneaks up behind him.

“Young Master, we should not go any deeper than this..”

After an hour of fumbling in the outskirts of the forest one of the guards spoke up. Add frowned. All this while, he had not seen a single proper “monster”, the best he had seen was a large wild boar the size of a cow, covered in thick brownish mane which earned it the name [Maned Boar]. And the guards had hurriedly pulled him away from it, as they were known for their violent nature of attacking anyone they saw in their territory. He knew from the memories that the monsters in this world were given a ‘Rank’ based on their strength and threat levels. These started from E to A and beyond them were the S ranked monsters with F-rank being the lowest, while the S rank was the highest . Magical beasts had a different ranking system, starting from the lowest Knight class, General class, King class, Emperor class, Calamity class, Mythical class, and the highest Deity class.

The [Maned Boar] was an E ranked monster, among the lowest, it was not very smart, yet its physical strength was nothing to scoff at. A group of 5-6 guards would be needed to bring it down, as a result the three guards dare not confront it. Luckily it was busy foraging in the shrubbery and did no notice them. After retreating from the boar the guards began to persuade him to return, as going further in would be very dangerous. Add reluctantly agreed. Although he wanted to test whether the boar could withstand the AK’s bullets, but he decided not to. It was not wise to let these guards of his see guns not now at least. The group returned to the horses and the guards began to mount, while Add stood thinking something, and then he stopped them.

“Listen. I have decided to explore the forests a little bit more, so I will be going back inside. Alone that is.”

The guards were instantly alarmed at this.

“Young Master you can’t! We have been instructed to ensure your safety by madam Martha, we cannot let you go alone!”

The youngest guard began protesting while the others also nodded in agreement. If Martha knew that they had neglected their duty then god knows what she would do o them. Add glared at them and this made the young man who was babbling instantly shut up. After all everyone in Rigel knew of the Young Master’s temper. He was a very impulsive person and many people had faced trouble when they had opposed him. If he really made the young master angry, then he may even lose his job. However Add didn’t lose his temper as he was thinking.

“You.what is your name ? ”

“EhAh..young MasterI am called Edward”

The young man named Edward was a decent looking chap. He had light brown hair, and above average features, in a remote area such as this, he could be considered pretty handsome. He had a decently fit body and was a head taller than Add who estimated his own current height to be 5’7″.

“Well then listen Edward. First things first am not asking your permission to go, rather I am informing youdid you forget who I am ? Or do you want to challenge my authority huh?”

Add’s tone was threatening at the end. Edward almost froze. ‘Damn it! I have gone and done it now! Why did I make the young master angry.’. The other guards were silent but were internally pitying Edward. They did not dare mess with Martha, however this did not meant that they would mess with the Young master as well. They remembered a few years ago when a guard had somehow annoyed him and the young master had punished him by making him run n.a.k.e.d around the mansion on a cold winter night.

“NoNo No! I wouldn’t dare young master! I wouldn’t dare!” Edward was sweating profusely, afraid what the young master would punish him with. But contrary to his fears Add just glared at him and then turned away.

“That’s good then. I will be back after a short stroll, you all just wait here for me; don’t dare follow me or you will face the consequences. And don’t worry I am not so stupid as to get myself killed that easily.”

He began walking back towards the forests, while the guards just stood, unsure of what to do. When suddenly Edward again stopped him.

“Young Master please wait! please take this sword with you just in case!”

Edward quickly gave the short sword he carried as a spare to Add. It was light and even the young master should be able to use it in self defence, after all when Lord Henry was still alive he had often trained the young master in self defence, and only after his death did the young master become a good for nothing slacker. Also there were few dangerous monsters on the out skirts of these hills as many people often came here to gather flowers, fruits etc. add accepted the sword and before leaving he once again turned to look at them. His eyes were looking very scary now.

“Also, I don’t think I have to remind you this, but don’t you dare speak any of this to Martha or else.”

Leaving the last words in trail, Add resumed his walk. The stupefied guards at once shouted back.

“”””We would not dare to young master !!!!””””

After entering the forest Add sighed.

“Really now, acting is a tough job for megood thing those people did not keep arguing or it would be a pain ”

The past whole time he had been pretending to threaten the guards. From his memory he knew how the original Adolf usually acted haughty and unreasonable and he managed to copy that somewhat. Thankfully that seemed too work. He soon returned to the track they had previously followed. Checking that there was no one following around him, he took out the AK-47 and loaded it. He felt much more secure now. He kept roaming on established trails, which he people often used, coming here to get fire wood and wild fruits et. Add also familiarised himself with the terrain, for future exploration. As he was following another trail, after a short turn in the path, he found himself standing a few metres from familiar yet strange creature.

It looked like a rabbit the size of a large cat, and was lazily munching on fresh grass among the shrubbery. It had grey fur and red eyes. But what made it distinct, was a sharp short horn on its head, and two sharp incisor teeth jutting out from its upper jaw, which were far too long to serve as anything other than a weapon. The guards had previously mentioned to him about these creatures. They were called [Horned Rabbits], clearly because of their horns. They were a favourite prey of hunters as their meat was said to be very tasty. However, catching them was not easy at all. They had very sharp hearing ran extremely fast and hence were very difficult to catch. They were not animals in the true sense but were called beasts. Their most annoying feature, though, was that if they felt that their enemy was weaker than them, then they would often attack their enemy with their horns.

As soon as it saw Add, the rabbit jumped away from its original position and landed few metres away. It did not run away however, instead it was staring at him from a distance. Its red eyes appeared menacing. Normally it should have run away, but instead of running away it pounced at Add with its pointed horn aimed at him.

Although Add instantly raised his rifle and took aim, it was so fast, that he could not even dodge its attack completely. He was barely able to fire a shot, which missed, and the horn slashed across his left arm leaving a deep gash on his arm. Add bit his lips and rolled on the ground taking his distance from the rabbit which had no intention of letting him go. It once again charged at Add. There was no way, he would be able to match its speed, but then his mind suddenly got clear because of the pain and he was reminded of a certain “skill” he had.

“Imaginary Time!”

Instantly, the world slowed down. Add’s vision turned grey but it became very clear. The Horned Rabbit now appeared slowly advancing towards him in air a few feet from him. This state would stay for only 10 seconds but that was enough for Add. He immediately readied his rifle and fired a burst of bullets, which immediately hit their target and pierced the rabbit’s body, and drilling multiples holes in it, instantly killing it.

After 10 seconds the world returned to normal, the dead rabbit fell on the ground, with a lot of bullet holes in its body. However Add was not unscathed as well. Aside from the gash on his arm, his entire body was paining as if he had been beaten by a group of people, and his head was paining like never before. The side effects of this skill were too severe.

[Ding! Congratulations Host, you have killed a horned rabbit. Received 50 Exp. and 25 CP]

[Ding! You have leveled up!]

[Exp. needed for next level 0/142]

He looked at the two screens which had just popped up before him and stood up, a bit unsteady, and went near the rabbit confirm that it was dead. Only then did he relax a bit. Just in case he reloaded his rifle and scanned his surroundings to look for any other signs of danger, but didn’t find any whatsoever. To his surprise however, he saw that the discarded shells of the bullets slowly turned into motes of light and vanished. Another strange quirk of the system it seemed. He decided to check his status later. For now he wanted to quickly leave.

“Well that was shameful..I almost got done in by a rabbit…. But this world sure is a tough place….even the rabbits here are so dangerous…..”

Though the AK was more than enough to put down this rabbit, it was much faster than Add could keep up with. The fault lied entirely with him. He had to be more cautious from now on, after all he did not want to die foolishly. He quickly picked up the rabbit and left the place and the smell of blood could attract other beasts. He drank another healing serum to heal his wound. His head was still hurting albeit endurably, which would likely persist for some time. He slung the corpse of the rabbit by his shoulder and walked towards the exit of the forest, the rifle still armed and ready in his hands. With this pain, he decided not to delve any deeper, and also the sun was quickly going down the horizon, and it was time for the rulers of the night to rule the forest, and Add didn’t have the slightest desire to have a chance meeting with them.

Back, at the outskirts, the four guards were very tensed. The young master had been gone for over two hours, now and still had not returned. They had even heard some weird sound coming from the forest, making them even more worried. Lord forbid if the young master even got a scratch, Marta would have them hell to see. Just as they were preparing to bite the bullet and go in search of Add, they saw the young master finally emerge from amidst the trees. They were relieved as if a huge boulder had been lifted from their hearts and they had been spared from being fed to the devil, but as Add neared them, they were in for a surprise. For hanging over his shoulder was a single horned rabbit. He had already put the rifle back into his inventory.

“Here Edward , have your sword back, honestly this blade is quite nice, I chopped up many annoying vines and branches with it.”

Edward had a strained look on his face as he accepted his sword back. This sword was his pride, he had maintained it with all his devotion for over three years now, and the young master simply dismissed it as a decent plant cutting blade. He felt like complaining but dare not, actually speak, lest he invoke his wrath. His gaze then shifted to the horned rabbit corpse that Add was now holding.

“Young Masterthat did you kill it ?”

Add passed on the rabbit to another guard, and shook his head, saying

“No way, do you see any sword wounds on this rabbit? Not to mention they are so fast, I cannot catch up to them even with my all. I was lucky to find this corpse while I was returning, maybe some animal had killed itI don’t know”

Add had no intention of telling them he had killed it, in fact he had checked he corpse to make sure that no bullet had stayed inside. At that range, the rounds of the AK-47 had entered the rabbit and exited from the other side, leaving no bullets inside it. So had no worries handing over the corpse to the guards. The guards nodded in agreement, after all the young master was a good for nothing, who had never even killed a fowl, how could he kill a [Horned Rabbit] which were known for their exceptional speed anyway. The group mounted the horses and in the dim reddish light of setting sun, rode off back to the town.

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Back at the mansion, Martha gave a long sermon to Add as he was quite late. The later could only helplessly sit and be preached at until she was satisfied. The guards kept their mouths shut and didn’t say a word of his little solo adventure. Dinner was bread and rabbit soup made of the very same rabbit he had killed. The meal was simple with few spices and salt used, as spices were very rare and costly in this age, and the finances of the house were near depleted hanks to the predecessors actions. After having his dinner, he asked Martha to give him a briefing of the financial situation of the house. Martha was shocked, as this was the first time in 15 years of his life, that the young master had taken interest in these matters. He would usually only ask for spending money and not care about anything else.

Still, surprised that she was, she did her job very well. It should be noted that Martha managed the finances of the household, everything from the payment of salaries to the servants and guards to the maintenance costs and all, other expenses, while her husband Walter, was the official treasurer who managed the tax collection and official expenditures such salaries of the few officials of the town, the 200 man strong militia that served as the Weismann family’s private troops, maintenance of roads etc. Martha called him who was also surprised after knowing that the young master wanted to know about the financial situation of the territory. But the old couple which has served two generations of the Weismann family, were more than happy if the young master decided to act like a proper lord from now on.

Add had little impression of Walter from Adolf’s memories as the old man rarely visited the mansion, and even when he did it was Martha or the other people that he had work with. Still he was a serious looking tall man whose stern face and strict aura, resembled that of a teacher. In the study room, the old couple patiently explained to Add the exact situation of the territory, and the discussion stretched long into the night, with Add trying to eke out as many details as he could. It was a good thing that Adolf knew how to read and write in this country’s language, so Add who inherited those memories, could make running notes with ease. It was only when Add felt that he had enough for now, that he let the two off. After they had left he went to the window and looked up at the cloudy sky. Iseria also had a moon which appeared to be over twice as big as compared to earth’s moon and glowed blue, most of which ws hidden by the clouds.

“For me to have reincarnated in this world, is it good or bad ?”

Add, from as long as he could remember, was a soldier. He was trained from when he just began to walk, at the age of 15 he was inducted into the army. His life had only been mission after mission, killing people and watching his comrades die. Add didn’t have much emotions and the little he had were always under his control, yet he was but human. Years of bloodshed, the screams of his dying enemies, the faces of his dying comrades still remained fresh in his mind. He remembered the tens of children who were blown to bits by a bomb, he remembered the mothers who died protecting their children, the couples who were killed in each other’s arms. Those scenes became nightmares, dreaded dreams. Haunting him every day. As such Add had long wanted to die. He was just too tired of all this. And when he finally thought he would have his rest, he found himself in a new body, and in a new world.

“Well.I guess I will find out due time”

Shaking his head, he continued arranging his plans. The situation of his territory was not good at all. No development, poverty, lack of trade and commerce, attacks from monsters and bandits were all plaguing this land, and the treasury which never came close to full was almost empty. Thankfully the king had spared the Weismann family from paying taxes considering the lands they owned, not that they could pay anything anyway. There was also the threat of the war between Reinglief and the bordering country of Solia in the south. Add to that the fact that the country was going through period of instability as the current king was on his last breaths and his various sons and daughters were struggling for the throne. The way they were now, if Reinglief fell, Add knew, his life as a noble of Reinglief will come in jeopardy as well.

This was a very bad situation and a situation which had to change. Add was a man from 21st century Earth, and having lived a life as a soldier, he faced a challenge being a lord of a territory. He needed to make sure his territory survived. This place was the closest thing t a home he ever had, in his last life, he had no place to call home other than the battlefield itself. But now he did. Fate had given him a chance to start a new, and he could not afford to lose it. That however didn’t change the fact that he had little idea about how to manage such a task. How to raise his territory to become strong and prosperous in these dangerously turbulent times. As he was wrecking his brain on this matter, a sudden idea came to him. An idea which would forever change the course of history of this world.

“That’s itthe answer was with me all along.how did it take me so long..if this world is ruled by the strongest fistthen WE have to become that fist itself!….”

He remembered the one state whose might forced much of the world to unite in fear. A state whose power crushed one of the most efficient armies of Earth in world war 2. The state which rose from poverty and underdevelopment to become an world power by its owna state which if not for the greed ad failures of men, would have become the one true superpower and dominated all. It was the state of which he as a Russian was technically still a member of.

“.after allfrom the taiga to the British seas..the red army is the strongest of them all”

Nobody knew, but the dawn of tomorrow would mark the beginning of a new era. An era no one of Iseria had even imagined in their wildest dreams.

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