BXBX NOVEL Chapter 231: Field test
"Three hundred meters!"
The reports continued to come in.
"Two fifty!"
"Two hundred… Wait, isn\'t he… One fifty!"
"They are closing in fast," a punk-like Makary\'s soldier muttered while readying the heavy machine gun that he held in his hand and supported with two straps wrapped around his shoulders.
"One hundred!"
"Should I take them out?" Fay asked, turning her head sideways to sneak a quick glance even though the likely enemy was just about to slam into us.
"Leave them to Makary\'s men," I countered Fay\'s suggestion. "But stay on your toes in case things go bad," I added. "They need to get used to the combat of this world."
This was all but a test, in a sense.
A test for Makary to see what worked and what did not. To let him understand the intricacies of a battlefield in a world with aura, where people could reach heights much greater than back on earth.
Most importantly, it was a field test of standard, modern guns and how they would fare against the shields local humans could raise.
"Fifty," the feminine man announced in a much softer voice, already kneeling down on one knee while hiding most of his body behind one of the trees.
Following Fay, I retreated to a slightly thicker part of the forest. As we hid within the bushes, we only had to wait for two more moments before two humans, both covered in bloodied armor, came out from between the trees a bit deeper into the forest.
"Chris, fire."
The feminine man adjusted the barrel of his light machine gun and, without even a hint of hesitation, opened fire.
*Trrr*
For the first time since I stopped using a normal pistol, I\'ve heard the proper sound of a gun. And for the first time in forever, I got to hear the noise made by an actual machine gun, a weapon that took more lives throughout modern wars than any sane man would like to imagine.
Chris didn\'t spray and pray, though. After the first controlled series and the first of the bloodied human soldiers falling to the ground like a mannequin cut free from the wires that held it up, the feminine man simply moved the rifle a tiny bit to the side before pulling the trigger again.
This time, however, things didn\'t go as easily.
Eager not to waste ammo, Chris shortened his series to just three, or four shoots. Given the rapid pace of the firing, I couldn\'t really tell.
After witnessing what happened to their companion just a second ago, the other humans managed to raise their barrier.
A barrier that I could sense appearing through the sways of the world\'s aura. And a barrier that shattered… but only after doing its job of stopping the four rounds Chris fired.
"DIE!!!" The human soldier shouted… Not even knowing that I and Fay was the only one who could understand his language.
And as that made me puzzled over when I actually learned it… I was too interested to watch how things would proceed to care.
Seeing how his bullets failed to find their mark, Chris froze for a split second. Still, he stood still for just long enough for everyone else in the group to start fixing their aims to compensate for the target\'s rapid advance.
Still, Makary didn\'t invite just some random men who would falter at the first sign of blood. Back on earth, their easy-going and laid-back attitude towards the man was the proof of it.
But right here and now, in Fay\'s world and smack-dab in the middle of an ongoing perfect example of a large-scale, guerrilla warfare… In this extremely different set of circumstances, Chris adjusted his aim before anyone else could take the shot…
And finished the event, by feeding the attacking human with several injections of heavy metals applied from the short distance the human soldier still had to run through.
"And that does it," Chris sighed, first ensuring the enemy was really done before quickly taking a glance down at the display hanging just below the bottom of his ribs, strapped on two pieces of leather he wrapped behind his neck. "Five… Another group, dead ahead, three hundred meters!"
"The cloud can\'t really give any precise information once there\'s more than just one target," Makary leaned over my ear to inform me, more than happy to stay hidden in the bushes, well within Fay\'s ability to protect him.
Just like me, he wasn\'t here to act all heroic or soldier-like. Even though I had no doubt he knew his way around weapons or maybe even close-quarters combat, he was simply too important within his group to ever risk his skin in a random encounter.
"Is this all those people can offer?" Loraz asked, emerging from one of the shadows near the bushes we were hiding in. "I can see the value of those weapons and tools…" he hesitated for a second.
All in all, Loraz\'s attitude changed ever since our fateful encounter. He grew meek and less confident… but at the same time, didn\'t lose even a shred of the ferocious determination he had for protecting his home. And while it is no longer showcased through his aggressive, domineering vibe…
I couldn\'t really tell I was comfortable with the new, sly version of him. In the end, however, I couldn\'t blame the man.
After Madam robbed him of his balls, he had no other choice but to admit that he was weaker than her. Doing that, in turn, led to the bulk of his personal power vanishing, leaving him in an even worse state than Madam\'s punishment was supposed to put him in.
Still, he learned. He learned that he lacked the power to achieve his goals through raw power alone… So could I really blame him for trying his hand at different methods?
"It might look silly because they are still testing things out," I countered, strangely insulted by the lack of respect in Loraz\'s voice towards both the arms and the very men from my world.
"Two hundred!"
Chris reported once again.
This time, however, the formation of Makary\'s men changed, bringing them into three lines of five men each, all set at just the slightest angle to give everyone a free line of fire dead-ahead.
"Hundred and fifty!"
Makary\'s men started to rise up, stood still in place lowered themselves down on one knee. The three men at the very front went all the way and laid down on the ground, quickly finding some points to support the long barrels of their guns.
"Hundred!"
The entire group… No, the entire area of the forest around us turned silent.
Chris didn\'t utter the next command, opting to just raise his fist and shake it.
\'Fifty,\' I thought, right as a group of a bit more than ten human soldiers emerged from beyond the trees.
Just like in the encounter before. This time, however, all of Makary\'s men opened fire at the same time, covering the entire group with a hail of bullets so dense, that even some of the best armors of the modern world would struggle to withstand.
And before a single man could raise their barrier, the entire group fell to the ground, riddled with bloody holes, some ripped to shreds through a short series of the HMG held by the punk-like man.
Seeing the results of the slightly more intense test, I turned my head and looked at Loraz.
"Do you have anything else to say about those men and their arms?"
I just couldn\'t help but jeer right in Loraz\'s face.
Yet, my smile didn\'t last long.
"Two big groups, smaller one dead ahead, bigger one on the north axis, three hours!"