"You never taught me how to reload, either?"
That left Hodge speechless.
To be honest, he could not remember whether he had taught her or not. The situation had been too urgent just now, and he had not held much hope to begin with. He had only told Gwen to give it a try, while he himself had already prepared to order the Expeditionary Force to open fire.
Yet Gwen had suppressed an entire side of White Calamity's bones all by herself...
"No matter what, this heavy machine gun shouldn't be able to keep firing nonstop like this. A few of you, help me set it up."
Several Expeditionary Force soldiers hurriedly helped Hodge carry the Gatling Gun onto a special mount by the window—the train had been built for war, after all, and had plenty of firing positions.
Hodge took a fresh magazine and expertly locked it into place before turning the crank...
"Hm?"
The crank seemed welded to the machine gun and would not budge in the slightest.
"Is the gun broken?"
"No?" Gwen looked utterly baffled. She had been using it perfectly well just now.
Hodge leaned over to inspect it. Nothing appeared to be jammed, and even if it were, it should have turned for a while before getting stuck.
Why would it refuse to move right away?
Gwen reached over and turned it several times. The gun spat out a burst of bullets with a rapid rattle, then she stepped aside.
Hodge gripped the crank—still impossible to turn.
Damn it, this was a new gun. A brand-new gun fresh from the warehouse. And why was he the only one who could not turn it?
After hesitating for a moment, Hodge took a can of gun oil from a soldier. It was cleaning oil, and he