Wood: You Doubt My Cannon-Firing Skills?!

A tall, stunningly beautiful young woman with a perfectly developed figure had just said she wanted to watch you fire a cannon. What would you do?

Wood silently loaded the dark cannonball into the barrel, then casually adjusted the cannon's angle.

He could let a lot of things slide, but being questioned about his cannon-firing skills by a young woman? No way in hell was he going to put up with that.

"I won't argue with you about anything else, but you might not know this: when it comes to firing cannons, I'm famous as the King of Cannons back where I'm from!

"My shots are powerful, have a long range, and can even be guided with pinpoint accuracy."

Watching Wood get to work with such confidence, Gion looked surprised. Maybe he really did know what he was doing?

"BOOM——!"

As flames burst from the barrel once more, the black cannonball arced through the air and finally slammed into the ground. It exploded in a burst of light and heat, leaving a sizable crater in the earth.

"Pfft! So this is the King of Cannons' technique? I'd say your aim is pretty average."

The little flag atop the mound still stubbornly fluttered in the wind, as if mocking the two of them. Seeing where the cannonball had exploded, Gion, who had been watching seriously, burst out laughing without warning.

Wood had talked himself up so convincingly that she'd thought he really was an expert.

But after that shot, he'd missed the marked spot by a mile, just like she had. He hadn't done much better than she had before.

"What are you laughing at? Sure, I didn't hit the mark, but I only missed by a little over thirty meters.

"My very first shot was already better than your results after more than twenty practice shots. Isn't that good enough?"

The young woman's mockery over his cannon-firing skills was too much, even for Wood's thick skin. He could barely keep a straight face.

Without a word, Wood loaded another cannonball and prepared to fire a few more while he was on a roll.

This wasn't about test scores. His dignity as a man was at stake. Wood had to prove that his reputation as a King of Cannons wasn't undeserved!

But just as he was about to keep going, Gion stopped him. It wasn't that she didn't want him to prove himself. They really were running out of ammunition.

The test itself only counted three shots, but unlike the rifle-shooting test, the cannon test allowed for "sighting shots."

Before each scoring shot, every team got two chances to fire sighting shots and adjust their aim. Then the best three shots would count toward their score.

Only three shots counted toward the test, but they needed a full nine cannonballs.

Of course, if they were confident enough, they could skip the sighting shots and fire three rounds straight for their score.

But Gion thought that with their level of skill, they were doomed without sighting shots.

Each team had forty cannonballs. Gion had already fired thirty, and Wood had fired one, so they were left with exactly the minimum required nine...

"I object! This isn't fair! You've already fired thirty shots, but I've only fired one, and now you won't let me shoot anymore!" Wood argued.

"Didn't I already explain? The test requires at least nine cannonballs. Your aim is so awful that more practice would just waste ammunition," Gion retorted firmly.

"You've got a nerve calling my aim awful... You wasted most of those cannonballs yourself.

"Just look at all these craters. Were you planning to plant trees and landscape the place?"

The instructor had been watching Wood and Gion's team closely from the start.

At first, they had loaded and fired in perfect sync. Their speed and coordination were better than those of the other teams, and the instructor had even thought they might make a good pair.

But after watching them for a while, the Captain Instructor was speechless. Neither Gion nor Wood could hit the broad side of a barn.

At a range of two hundred meters, both of them had managed to miss by more than twenty meters. Even the other teams' very first shots had been about that accurate.

Gion was especially hopeless. Her cannon skills were so terrible it was almost painful to watch. After no fewer than thirty rounds spent adjusting her range, she still managed to miss by more than thirty meters.

And she was actually pleased with herself, convinced she had potential. If they tried to train her as a professional artillerywoman, the entire Marine Headquarters' supply of cannonballs probably wouldn't be enough for her practice.

After some more practice, the test began as scheduled.

Besides accuracy, the cannon test also factored in loading speed and how well each team worked together.

"Can you actually do this or not? We've only got six cannonballs left, and we only get one sighting shot each.

"If you're not confident, let me take over. I think I've finally got the hang of it."

That's right: they hadn't managed to save the minimum nine cannonballs. After Wood's vehement protests, he'd fired three more.

And when the test began, Gion hesitated for a moment before deciding to let Wood fire while she handled the loading.

"I don't mind letting you take over. I don't care about our test score anyway.

"But are you sure you can do it? Even with my terrible aim, I should still be quite a bit better than someone."

Hearing Wood's words, Gion looked displeased, but she had no way to argue against him.

People had to keep trying, or they'd never know what true despair felt like. There couldn't be a more fitting way to describe Gion's cannon skills.

"Uru, Yak. Nine shots completed. Best results: two shots landed within ten meters of the target, one direct hit. Loading speed: below average. Teamwork: below average. Test score: above average. Overall score: above average.

"Next recruits, Wood and Gion, step forward for the cannon test."

The team ahead of Wood and Gion had finished their test, and it was their turn. The instructor, who had been keeping an eye on them, already knew what had happened, so he didn't question them about taking the test with only six cannonballs. He simply told them to hurry up.

Cannonballs were heavy, after all—they were basically giant lead spheres. Loading speed directly affected their firepower, which was why it counted toward the score.

Although Gion was a woman, her physical strength was far greater than that of the average Marine. Their loading speed earned them the highest possible rating.

Surprisingly, the two of them also received an above-average rating for teamwork.

As for their cannon accuracy, they fired six shots, and the best three counted. Only one landed within ten meters of the mark; the other two were about twenty meters from the target. That earned them a below-average rating.

Their final overall score was below average. Their loading speed and teamwork had been impeccable, but accuracy carried the most weight in the overall score.