BXBX NOVEL Chapter 72: | 072 | Anti-Magus Gun
"Charlotte, are you sure this is an anti-material rifle? It might as well be a portable small cannon." The Fleet Admiral remarked while turning his gaze towards the silver-blond lady beside him. She was Charlotte, the Vice Admiral of the United Navy.
"Hmm… Is this the thing that handled the Magus in Crassus\'s ship?" On the other hand, Laplace also questioned while placing a finger below her chin.
She seemed intrigued by the anti-material rifle, though most of it came from the fact that it could penetrate Magus\' shields. Such things usually needed penetration spells to puncture through. Or through her method, hitting it with enough power.
"To answer both of your questions, Yes and No." Charlotte looked at the two who seemed doubtful in their gaze. Abraham couldn\'t believe that it was a rifle, while Laplace wanted to know of its power.
"Fleet Admiral, the Anzio 20mm Vulcan is still a part of the anti-material rifle family. Although it\'s a lot bigger and longer than most rifles, it still couldn\'t be classified as an artillery by our standards." First, she answered Abraham\'s question.
"And Lieutenant Laplace, this isn\'t the one that handled the shield of a Magus. The weapon you\'re looking for should be over there." After answering the Fleet Admiral\'s question, Charlotte responded to Laplace\'s.
She then pointed somewhere in the shooting range where a lone M82 Barrett.
Laplace followed Charlotte\'s finger and saw a tinier rifle that couldn\'t compare to the one before them. She furrowed her eyebrows as she glanced at Abraham as if asking for his confirmation.
Noticing the questioning gaze of Laplace, Abraham nodded as he was the one who ordered the Marines to make use of the anti-material rifle against the Magus\'s shield.
With Abraham\'s evident confirmation, Laplace cast her doubts away and looked at the M82 Barrett. She wondered if they could equip every soldier with this weapon. Through this rifle, they could conquer the Ferus Sea.
"But I\'d like to add. From the reports of First Lieutenant Campbell, the .50 BMG didn\'t immediately penetrate through the Magus\'s shield. It took some time, and it practically became molten metal before breaking the shield."
"The Magus did manage to escape, so I consider it as ineffective in handling the Magi." Charlotte prompted to expound as she didn\'t want the dragoness to get the wrong idea.
"That\'s right. If the M82 Barrett could take care of the Magus during the operation, we wouldn\'t even bother testing the Anzio 20mm Vulcan." Abraham continued on Charlotte\'s explanation.
Unlike the M82 Barrett, the Anzio 20mm Vulcan was a lot harder to carry and very complicated to assemble compared to the M82 Barrett. So, in terms of logistics, the Barrett would have been better to handle.
But there was no use in complaining as anti-magic armaments haven\'t been made yet. He needed to invest in research and development technologies for this path. However, he didn\'t have the time and resources to do so.
They were even having problems synthesizing the newly-gained rare mineral that was stupidly impressive compared to the usual ones. In simpler terms, the United Navy had its hands full.
"Sir, the anti-material rifle is ready." After assembling the rifle, one of the personnel walked towards Abraham and stood before him with a salute. He then reported the status of the anti-material rifle.
Abraham nodded in understanding and walked closer to the Anzio 20mm Vulcan. Getting closer to it, he finally appreciated its size. It was as though he was looking at a miniature cannon.
"The Anzio 20mm Vulcan has 4 times the power of an M82 Barrett. Although penetration-wise, it isn\'t as strong as its power, it still is incredible when combined together." Charlotte calmly explained to Abraham.
"So it\'s stronger, right?" Laplace looked at Charlotte with sparkling eyes. Rifle go boom was something she wanted to hear.
Charlotte gazed at Laplace\'s golden irises and contemplated for a short while before nodding at the dragoness.
With the confirmation of the Vice Admiral, Laplace obviously became excited at the thought of it firing. After all, as someone who was a fan of seeing things blasted into pieces, this might cater to her needs.
"Then, what are you waiting for? Let\'s fire that so-called anti-material rifle, Stone-faced!" Laplace uttered with a commanding tone while grinning and pointing in the direction where the anti-material rifle faced.
Obviously, Charlotte didn\'t respond and stared at her without much of a reaction. In the mind of the Vice Admiral, she was asking herself why she should follow the orders of some random Lieutenant.
However, there was someone that she needed to take orders to. And it was none other than the Fleet Admiral, Abraham.
He gazed at her and nodded as though confirming the firing test of the Anzio 20mm Vulcan. As the loyal subordinate of the Fleet Admiral, Charlotte didn\'t hesitate and ordered the sniper to start firing.
"Fire the anti-material rifle towards the designated tree." Hearing her aloof orders, the sniper nodded and lay behind the Anzio 20mm Vulcan. He took a deep breath for a moment before gazing through the scope.
The designated target for the firing test was a kilometer away from the anti-material rifle. This was to test its power over long distances in order to gauge its penetrating capability and power.
As the sniper took his time, the three watched from behind with anticipation brewing inside their hearts. Though... Every one of them looked stone-cold on the outside, never revealing their elation of the current subject.
After the sniper became confident of his accuracy and precision through lengthy preparation, he took another breath and finally pulled the trigger of the anti-material rifle.
*BANG!*
A deafening sound followed and reverberated throughout the shooting range. Faint smoke escaped the barrel of the anti-material rifle while the sniper glanced at Charlotte and nodded in confirmation.
"It seems that it was a hit, Fleet Admiral." Seeing the confirmation of the sniper, Charlotte remarked. Meanwhile, Abraham only glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.
He couldn\'t see much of the effects it brought, but it sure sounded like freedom.
"Impressive, it broke apart the first tree with ease and kept pushing through. Hmm… There should be six trees hit by it with five of them broken in half." Laplace commented with a surprised expression.
Her eyes were pointed at where the anti-material rifle was shooting at.
"Despite being smaller than a cannonball, it\'s somewhat fast and has a lot of punch behind it. I guess it should handle low to middle-end Magi." Laplace\'s remarks went even further, which surprised Abraham and Charlotte.
After all, this was important information to them. And it was something to be trusted since it came from none other than the dragoness.
"Hmm? Why are you staring at me like that?" Laplace then noticed the hungry gaze of the Vice Admiral and Fleet Admiral.