Two days after the enlarged plenary meeting, Iron Axe received the order to test the new weapon again.
Since the northwest may be attacked by evil beasts at any time, the new shooting range was set up on the other side of the Chishui River. When the iron axe arrived, the prince's personal guards had already surrounded the open space with hemp rope and red flags, and put them on the steel bridge. Checkpoints were set up at both ends to prevent unrelated persons from passing through.
Obviously, His Royal Highness attaches great importance to the test of this weapon.
Walking briskly in the snow of different shades, looking at the friendly gaze from the guard, Iron Axe couldn't help but remember the first time he participated in the musket test. At that time, he was just a little-known alien sandman, and the people of Graycastle always showed suspicion and vigilance towards him, even after living in the small town for five years, impressing the surrounding hunters with his superb archery , but outside the old district, no one will give him a second look.
He originally thought that he would always live in seclusion in this barren land as an hunter, either dying of old age in bed or under the claws of evil beasts or prey. Let yourself see the power of Skyfire and Thunder. The next transformation was too fast for him to see, from the formation of a militia team to fight against the evil beasts, to the establishment of the First Army in Border Town, he became the commander-in-chief of the First Army from the captain of the Orion team. What was even more surprising was that it was precisely because of His Highness's attitude towards witches that he met again in the small town the heir of the Aosha clan, Lord Drow Silver Moon, which made up for the greatest regret in his life. For this trust and appreciation, as well as the compensation for his own destiny, Iron Axe has sworn in his heart to dedicate his everything to this new master.
Approaching the center of the testing ground, Iron Axe saw the figure of His Royal Highness Roland. To his surprise, in addition to His Highness and the chief knight, there were several Sleeping Island witches.
"His Royal Highness, Iron Axe will report to you!" He took two steps forward and salutes the prince.
The latter nodded, "Since everyone is here, we can start." He handed two long spears to Iron Axe and Carter, "This is one of my newly developed weapons, which is still in the prototype trial production stage. Quantities are limited, so take turns to try."
Iron Axe took a closer look at the new gun in his hand - its shape is very similar to the revolver rifle, the only difference is in the loading part: the new gun has no cartridge.
He was stunned. Could it be that this gun, like the earliest flintlock gun, needs to be loaded from the front of the barrel
"It's called a bolt-action rifle," Fortunately, His Royal Highness quickly explained, "the bullet uses the latest smokeless double-base propellant with a caliber of 8mm. Although it is lower than a 10mm revolver, its power is more powerful. Big." He turned the gun over, "The ammo is inserted from the front of the trigger, and each clip can fit five bullets, but it doesn't fire continuously like a revolver rifle, and needs to be manually ejected and loaded."
According to His Royal Highness's demonstration, Iron Axe quickly understood the operation method of the new rifle, and raised the gun to test a clip of bullets. The impact of the head, and the sound is much louder than the revolver.
After the five shots were fired, he noticed that there was almost no smoke in front of the muzzle. If it was replaced with an old-fashioned rifle, the smoke from the five bullets would be enough to block his vision. This is probably the credit of His Highness's so-called "smokeless ammunition". However, there is nothing unique about the gun itself. Compared with the huge gap between the revolver gun and the flintlock gun, the new rifle has not made any progress. Iron Axe even feels that It's not as good as a revolver. The most obvious place is that the rate of fire has slowed down.
Compared with the former, which can be fired continuously after aiming at the target, the new gun is extremely inconvenient when standing and shooting. After manual reloading, the gun body has to be re-aimed. Although this process is much faster than the flintlock gun, it takes a short time. Overwhelm the enemy - for example, when clearing Longsong Stronghold against rebellious nobles, and close encounters break out on street corners or inside houses, the new rifle is far less useful than the revolver.
After Iron Axe shared his experience with the test firing, Carter also expressed the same opinion.
The prince nodded and said, "It's true that it's not as convenient as a revolver, but the advantages are very obvious. Andrea, let's demonstrate it." He handed a rifle to the witch, "Remember to use the ability to shoot."
"Hmm," the blond witch took the gun and loaded it skillfully, seeing that it wasn't the first time she came into contact with this weapon, "Look!"
With three deafening gunshots, Iron Axe was surprised to find that the three wooden targets placed at the farthest fell down one after another—the bullet not only hit the target only the size of a fingernail, but also hit the target below the target. pole.
You must know that they are at least 400 meters away from the target!
"Your Highness, this is..." Carter dared not answer.
"Andrea's branching ability allows her to accurately hit the target, no matter whether the weapon in her hand is a bow or a gun," the prince smiled, "but it does not directly act on the bolt or bullet, but on the accuracy of the weapon's performance. Mastery - In other words, if you throw a stone by yourself, it is estimated that it can only hit a target of about ten meters, and if it is thrown by a bird, it is likely to hit nothing."
"You mean... ordinary people can achieve this level as long as they are trained?"
"Yes, this is the biggest advantage of a bolt-action rifle. It won't leak due to the gap between the cartridge and the barrel, so the range and accuracy are greatly improved." Roland nodded, "When paired with the scope, , Even in the hands of ordinary soldiers, it can accurately kill the enemy about four or five hundred meters, and the precise shooting distance of the revolver is less than 100 meters."
Iron Axe immediately understood the terrifying aspects of this weapon. Most people would not be wary of sneak attacks at this distance. As long as they hide in residential buildings or high ground, they can easily take the lives of important targets. If it is Nightingale If an adult holds it, almost no one can guard against bullets fired from corners.
"His Royal Highness, you promised to give me one when mass production," Andrea covered her mouth.
"Of course," Roland retracted the two rifles, walked to the other side, and uncovered a raised piece of cloth. "In fact, the bolt-action rifle is just an appetizer before the test. This thing is the focus of today's test."
When the weapon hidden under the linen was exposed, the iron axe instantly fell in love with it - compared to the rifle made of wooden handle and iron tube, this new musket is completely black, as if the whole body is made of metal, and the volume is also smaller. It is much larger, and with the tripod below it, it is almost half the height of a person. The long barrel is half the thickness of a wrist, and the bright bullets are densely hung on a cloth belt and connected to the wide gun body. No matter its shape or posture, it is completely different from the previous weapons.