Delivery and Test Firing

Burke was very polite. "Viscount Santos, it's a pleasure to serve you and the valiant soldiers of the Fourth Regiment this time."

"Director Burke, you flatter me."

I never expected that it would be you, such a great expert, who would personally come to my military camp to guide us in learning and mastering the New Weapon.

To be honest, I was quite surprised to hear the news from His Duke. The sudden change of equipment... is it because this New Weapon is extremely difficult to master?

Ross asked with some uncertainty, clearly worried that the Type One Rifle might be difficult to master.

Factory manager Burke quickly waved his hands, "Viscount Santos, don't worry."

This Type One Rifle is undoubtedly the cutting-edge result of our collaborative efforts with the Territory Research Institute. It is not only incredibly powerful, but it is also capable of changing the current state of warfare.

Moreover, it's easy to learn; it's a weapon that can be mastered quickly, and even a child or a peasant woman can use it.

After listening to Burke's words, Santos became even more curious. The two exchanged a few brief pleasantries, and then the convoy began to enter the military camp.

When Santos saw that the first few carts were filled with neatly stacked long wooden crates, he knew that these must be the mysterious weapons, which looked to be far smaller than Artillery.

When Santos hesitated again. The wooden crates on the carts were all common square wooden crates. Could they be weapons that needed to be assembled, like portable crossbows?

Soon the group followed the convoy to an open area within the camp, where Burke quickly ordered the accompanying workers to take down a wooden crate.

As the box was opened, everyone saw five long spears neatly wrapped in straw inside.

Burke pulled out a rifle and introduced it to Santos, saying, "These are the Type One Rifle that have been issued to the troops; they're all new rifles that our Arms Factory just made."

Santos looked at the object in Burke's hand with great curiosity. No wonder it was called a rifle; this length was that of a short gun, nearly 1.2 or 1.3 meters long, with an iron pipe at the front that gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Just as Santos reached out and touched the iron pipe in front of him, he suddenly realized that his hand was covered in oil.

Burke said rather embarrassedly, "Viscount Santos, it was really my oversight. Because it was a new gun, some gun oil was applied to the barrel to prevent rust and preserve it."

These gun oils must be cleaned before use.

He handed Santos a handkerchief, gesturing for him to wipe his hands, and then called over two workers to begin cleaning the five guns.

Seeing this, Santos ordered the soldiers who were already prepared to change clothes to join in the cleanup work.

But Burke stopped him. "Let our men handle the cleanup; our soldiers shouldn't rush into our work."

We also have some guns ready; you can all witness their power firsthand.

Soon, the Arms Factory workers took out several guns from another wooden crate that were not coated with gun oil, but these guns all showed very obvious signs of use.

The Arms Factory guards who accompanied the convoy loaded the ammunition onto the guns and prepared to test fire them.

The Fourth Regiment's camp happened to have a ready-made archery range, so they set up the test firing area there.

The wooden targets in this firing range are only 150 meters apart, which is about 200 paces. This is basically the range limit of the longbows and Heavy Crossbow used by the army.

Santos initially intended to have the target moved forward, but Burke stopped him.

"Viscount Santos, this distance is perfect!"

Soon, the soldiers in charge of the test installed the Y-shaped bracket, then mounted the gun on it and began test firing.

Five gunshots rang out in quick succession, startling the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment who were watching nearby.

Santos remained unmoved. He had prepared in advance, and after seeing the shape and loading action, he knew that the firing sound of this weapon should be similar to that of Artillery.

Moreover, the sound of Artillery fire is much louder than this thing, so naturally there was no reaction.

As the smoke cleared, the onlookers gasped in unison. The five wooden targets at 2150 meters were smashed to pieces—not hit, but shattered, with fragments scattered all over the ground.

Although Santos was blinded by the smoke and couldn't see the details, he knew the shot must have hit the bullseye. But the bullet was very powerful; the kinetic energy from penetrating the bullseye tore the entire circular target to pieces.

Seeing the horrific state of the target, all the officers and soldiers were shocked by the power of this new weapon.

Santos hadn't expected that, although he knew it might work on the same principle as Artillery, a weapon used by a single soldier could achieve such range, such accuracy, and such power.

Judging from the extent of the damage to the wooden target, Santos believed that even heavily armored soldiers would have difficulty withstanding such an attack. Even if the bullet didn't penetrate the armor plates, the kinetic energy of the impact would create an effect similar to blunt force trauma, directly shattering the bones.

At this point, Factory Manager Burke explained to Santos, "Viscount Santos, the maximum range of this Type One Rifle is currently 900 meters."

His words had barely left his mouth when they drew gasps of surprise from those around him; clearly, even the officers of the Fourth Regiment hadn't expected the weapon to have such a long range.

"Of course, in actual use, the maximum range of 900 meters is meaningless. Beyond 500 meters, the bullets become inaccurate."

However, we have conducted tests, and at a distance of about 400 to 500 meters, the bullet still maintains an arc-shaped trajectory, demonstrating good accuracy.

However, apart from a few exceptionally gifted individuals, most people using this gun can only hit targets at a maximum distance of about 200 meters.

Unless one undergoes extensive training and possesses exceptional eyesight, it is impossible to hit a target 300 or even 400 meters away.

His Excellency the Duke also requested that a small telescope, called a scope, be added to this gun to assist soldiers in aiming, thus helping them shoot at distant targets.

We are currently conducting tests on this, and it is estimated that once it is produced, it will first be deployed to the Fourth Regiment, but at present we only have this basic model.

After testing a few shots, the guards at the Arms Factory brought out all the available sample guns and invited the officers of the Fourth Regiment to test fire them.

Everyone, including Santos, was eager to get involved.

Soon, a series of explosions rang out at the shooting range, attracting the attention of others.

It was generally known within the Fourth Regiment that it seemed their troops were about to be equipped with New Weapon, and these rumors were all related to the New Weapon.

The soldiers were all very curious and began to gather around the firing range.

As more and more soldiers gathered to watch, seeing this situation, Factory Manager Burke hurriedly said to Santos, "Viscount Santos, please restrain your soldiers. They must not surround the shooting range, especially the area behind the targets."

Even if the bullet hits the target, it still has considerable power, and if it forms a stray bullet, it could very well injure the soldiers who are watching.

After listening to Burke's words, Santos nodded. He also knew that this weapon was so powerful that if a stray bullet hit someone, it would definitely be a death.

The test firing was immediately stopped. He quickly ordered his Guard Corps to send the soldiers who were watching back to their camp and ordered the captains of each detachment to control their troops.

The firing range only quieted down after the soldiers who had been watching around it were driven away.

Seeing this, both of them understood that there was no need to continue the test firing, since all the officers of the Fourth Regiment above the Squad Leader had already test-fired and experienced the New Weapon.

After the officers test-fired the Type One Rifle, they spoke highly of it and gathered around Santos, wanting to be among the first units to be equipped with it.

Seeing this, Burke immediately bid farewell to Santos: "Viscount Santos, it's almost time here, so I'll head back now."

I will leave a squad of technicians behind to help the Fourth Regiment learn how to master and maintain the Type One Rifle.

We will then ship approximately 500 more rifles each month until the end of March, when we complete the task assigned to us by the Duke: to equip the Fourth Regiment with 2,000 rifles.

Hopefully, these New Weapons will help you and your troops achieve victory in the battles to come.

I believe the New Weapon will definitely not disappoint you!

Santos nodded. "Manager Burke, thank you for your cooperation."

We anticipate that this will be a long time coming to your factory, so please let us know if you need anything.

Also, if possible, I hope the deployment speed of this rifle can be accelerated. If there is a shortage of funds, our Fourth Regiment has some contingency funds that can be advanced to our factory.

Burke understood that, although it was only a short test firing, the performance of the Type One Rifle had already impressed Santos.

He said to Santos with great pleasure, "Your Excellency, I am pleased with your approval of the Type One Rifle, but please rest assured."

Our Arms Factory will definitely be working overtime. A monthly delivery of 500 units is actually a conservative estimate. I think we can increase that by adjusting personnel and production lines.

While speeding up production, the Arms Factory will ensure both quality and quantity, and will never allow defective products to appear in our military camps.

"No need for the money; His Highness the Duke has already allocated the funds for us."

Santos nodded. Although he hadn't had much contact with the new head of the Burke Arms Factory, he now saw that he was indeed a seasoned and capable person, a very suitable Arms Factory manager.