บท 126: Cards on the table
Traveling at a speed of 1282 meters per second, the .50 bullet arched through the air as it went for the target. There were 2 crosswinds in its path, deflecting it from its intended target back and forth some. However, all this was well within the commander's plans.
It took nearly 3 seconds for the bullet to get to the enemy, and by that time, the planet had moved some, deflecting the shot. What the crosswinds couldn't do, Coriolis and inertia did, making the bullet miss the target, but the commander was not complaining.
The commander's target was The prince of Gumina, and the bullet missed him completely. However, the prince was surrounded by important dignitaries, and wouldn't you know it, the bullet found a very important mark.
As a bullet the size of his thumb tore through his chest cavity, a temporary wound bigger than the King of Reuze's torso formed, tearing his body into 2. The bullet did not stop there, it continued and shot down 2 other aides.
Catalina's gun was in semi-automatic mode, which meant she could keep firing. Every tug of the trigger would send a bullet downrange until the magazine was empty. With 20 bullets, she could do sufficient damage.
When the bullet had whizzed past him, the prince of Gumina had sensed death smiling at him. Very quickly, his instincts screamed at him to get down. In an instant, he was on the ground even before Lord Otto fell.
However, Lady Gwendolyn took her time to process what just happened. The soldiers around her were fast enough to pull her down, but they acted too late. As she fell, her face intercepted the bullet that was meant for her chest.
The bullet may have shot at her face, but the kinetic energy it contained was enough to obliterate everything from the neck up. Everyone was covered in little pieces of the brain and gut from the 2 dead royalties.
Catalina's next shot went through the wall, she did not know who she hit, but she turned her attention to other exposed target. She had done what she intended. With the command structure broken, the army would crumble. D*mn she loved these guns.
Catalina was an excellent shot but had it not been for the fine work on the gun she was wielding, she wouldn't have been able to accomplish that.
In the latter years when gun powder was becoming obsolete, maglev guns were introduced. The same concepts used to power some of the most advanced roller costers and bullet trains were being used here.
It involved propelling the use of two sets of magnets, one set to repel and push the train up off the track, and another set to move the elevated train ahead, taking advantage of the lack of friction.
In the case of the gun, the bullets were magnetic and so were the tracks on the gun. Couple that with the effect of gunpowder and you have a supercharged bullet able to keep moving for longer.
This gave the commander both range and accuracy, not to mention the absolute destruction contained. Add that to her skill as an archer and a markswoman, the woman was extremely lethal.
Trudy, as she named the gun, was not a standard issue. Barda had borrowed the gun and made modifications to it, making it smoother and easier to use. With reduced gunpowder, there was less recoil felt, making the firing a bit more comfortable for the sniper.
A gunpowder-powered weapon was not so easy to use as it involved mini-explosions happening in your hands. For snipers, they had to place their faces on the guns to get the best aim. With a maglev gun, the weapon became more comfortable.
Catalina was showing the effects of a sniper as a force multiplier, and she wasn't alone. Perched on a ridge overlooking the area the army was matching, she was more than a kilometer away from the enemy, yet she could take out her enemies with ease.
Each bullet she fired was not just to kill, but to disrupt something. She would shoot down commanders or team leaders rallying the soldiers, increasing the confusion.
She also took out key personnel such as the men loading the siege engines. Any mage that dared show up was fair game. With the speed and power of the bullet, few would be able to stop the bullet, let alone dodge it.
On the same ridge but closer to the action, other snipers took the cue from their commander and started firing as well.
Previously, this team would have wielded bows and arrows and would be hoping for a hail mary to shoot anyone, but now, things were different. With the high-powered and calibrated scopes, the soldiers could aim and shoot real targets, instead of just firing into the crowd.
On the ground, the forces were coming in contact with the Guminates. It was a pity, all that preparedness yet a group of 20,000 were able to maw down most of the frontlines.
The archers holding up the rear of the army were hard-pressed to try and stop the group, but their arrows could not penetrate the hard armor of the warriors.
Once they were close enough, Tristan soldiers fired their rifles. The ensuing sound brought deep-seated fear into the hearts of the soldiers, who did not know what to make of the attack.
The fear-factor in the sound of more than 10,000 rifles going off at once, especially to soldiers who had never faced such a weapon before could not be under-estimated. Some bold men and women who were marching to conquer and plunder suddenly begun wetting themselves in fright, while others took off running from some unseen threat.
The lines crumbled soon after. The advancing army faced little opposition as they shot anyone they saw. Everyone else was scrambling trying to get as far as they could. These weapons were truly too mysterious.
As all this was happening, the Prince of Gumina finally got a chance to breathe. After running from the window as fast as possible, the group of dignitaries had left the tower-carriage they were on and hid in various places behind it.
The generals and the leaders were on a carriage that served as a tower, overlooking the movements of the forces, calling the shots.
Feeling his face, the prince quickly got rid of the blood and guts that had been sprayed on him. He was visibly terrified. That attack had shaken him to his core. By some manner of good luck, he had escaped the shot. The gory deaths were even more horrible to witness than to experience.
Quickly, the prince knew he had to get himself together, so he channeled the fear to become anger. "Send the signal now!" He shouted! It was time to unleash Gumina's might.
This was his trump card. He had been waiting to see what Barda would do, but now that he had received such a sneak attack, he saw no point in holding it back. If they survived this, they deserved his recognition.
***
"Is it me, or it is getting warmer?" One soldier asked another.
"No, I feel it too. D*mn heatwave coming at such a time," The soldier said as he instinctively looked up. The look of complaint faded instantly, being replaced by a look of horror. There were 2 suns?
"Look!" He shouted to his buddy. Indeed, there was a fireball coming closer to them, and this fireball looked far bigger than the sun.
The 2 weren't the only ones to notice among the ground forces. The commotion that followed trumped whatever distractions they had. The golems' threat level had reduced in comparison to this new threat.
Unfortunately, for those in the ships, they could not see the attack coming on account of the capsules atop the ships. This was what the Prince of Gumina was counting on.
From her vantage point, Catalina could see the fireball quite clearly. It did indeed look like a sun, only smaller. It measured the size of an entire farm field, which measured just over 4 football fields. Once it landed, no doubt the area of effect would be much larger.
It was heading directly to where the main forces were, including the Queen. With all her tricks and weapons, she was powerless to stop it. There was nothing she could do.
"Lord Barda, wherever you are, we need your help now," It was more of a prayer than muttering. There was no one else that could help, not with such odds.
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