Chapter 44: "Cannon Sniper" Reborn!

  Yang Chuo took over the sniper rifle in a daze, feeling as if he was dreaming. But the unique dark blue metallic luster in front of him, and the heavy feel in his hand, reminded him that this magical weapon was really in his hands.

  Di Lie patiently waited for Yang Zuo to get used to the new weapon before telling him how to aim with three points in a line and how to use the scope to lock onto targets.

  To put it in another way, just a scope would be enough to make someone dizzy for half a day. However, Yang Zhechong was one of the most familiar with scopes after Di Lie, and he quickly got used to its performance.

  Three hundred paces away, the target the size of an ant was as big as a fist in the scope. Yang Zhechong was confident that he would hit the target, but he had doubts about such a long range.

  Three hundred paces! That's a range that even the divine arm bow can't match, probably only the triple-bow bed crossbow (a large-scale long-range defensive weapon of the Song Dynasty, with three super-powerful bows on the arms, two in front and one in back) could achieve such an astonishing distance. However, using a triple-bow bed crossbow to aim at and hit a human target over 300 paces away... it seems that since the invention of the bed crossbow, no one has ever done something so crazy and stupid.

  However, in the early years of this dynasty, roughly during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, when the Song and Liao armies were facing off at the city of Chanzhou, someone had indeed done something crazy - a group of defending soldiers used three bow-bed crossbows to fire an "one gun three sword arrow" (the arrow shaft was extremely thick, with iron feathers, and a huge three-edged iron tip at the front, because it was roughly the same size as the long spears used by ordinary soldiers, hence its name), which shot through the chest of the Liao general Xiao Daluan from over 300 paces away outside the city. This unexpected event also indirectly contributed to the signing of the Song-Liao "Treaty of Chanyuan".

  Of course, this is not to say that the three-bow bed crossbow can accurately snipe human targets 300 steps away. The arrow that killed Xiao Daluan was absolutely a once-in-a-thousand-years shot. It's like using a cannon to hit a mosquito 300 steps away, with a probability lower than winning the lottery, purely a blind cat hitting a dead mouse.

  Di Lie didn't respond to Yang Zhechong's doubts, instead he took on the role of spotter and calculated the distance, wind speed, humidity, air resistance and other factors before adjusting Yang Zhechong's aim. Just as they were about to fire, Di Lie hesitated for a moment - the standard range for the original cartridge was over 6 kilometers. Of course, this was just theoretical data, how could anyone possibly hit a target that far away? The normal sniping distance was around 1,500 to 1,800 meters, and hitting targets above 2,000 meters was an exception.

  Now it's using reloaded bullets, and no matter the nature of the gunpowder, the amount of loading, the primer, the bullet head and shell quality, all have a certain gap with the original standard bullet. This will inevitably affect the range, accuracy and power of the bullet. However, even if there is a difference, 500 meters should still be reachable, otherwise this rifle, whether now or in the future, would be reduced to an ordinary rifle!

  Di Lie took a deep breath and finally gave the order: "Fire! Now!"

  Pffft! A faintly audible report, a puff of white gas jetted out from the muzzle brake, and a powerful recoil sent Yang Zhaozhong tumbling backward with a loud yelp. If he hadn't been firing prone but standing or kneeling instead, he would probably have tumbled over.

  But at this time, Yang Zhechong couldn't care about the pain in his shoulder, and he quickly looked through the scope to see the target, then jumped up three feet high: "Hit it! Hit it!"

  At this time, Di Lie had already grabbed a sniper rifle and quickly ran towards the target.

  The human-shaped target 500 meters away was made of thick elm wood, lined with leather armor and covered with a suit of finely crafted iron plate armor. As a result, the bullet directly penetrated the plate armor, then pierced through the leather armor, and after entering three inches into the wooden frame, it got stuck inside the human-shaped elm wood.

  Di Lie exerted himself and swung his fist, suppressing the excitement in his heart. He carefully dug out the bullet with a dagger. The bullet head was severely deformed and had even burst open in part, scattering fine copper fragments around the point of impact. If this target were a real person, even if this shot hadn't hit a vital spot and wasn't fatal on the spot, these fine copper fragments would still slowly erode his life over the years to come.

  Although Yang Zhe wanted to come again, Di Lie didn't give him another chance.

  Di Lie personally took up the gun and conducted tests at distances of 800 meters, 1,000 meters, and 1,200 meters. The resulting data showed that: At 800 meters, it could penetrate infantry armor and leather armor but failed to damage the poplar wood target; At 1,000 meters, it penetrated infantry armor but was unable to pierce leather armor; At 1,200 meters, it was unable to penetrate infantry armor, but it could pierce leather armor and cause damage to the protected target.

  Considering the Jin army's cavalry wore leather armor for lightness and speed, most of them were within the range of rifle fire. The 1,200-meter sniping distance was the limit of "cannon sniping" after using repeating rifles.

  "It's only 1,200 meters! That is... a distance of about 700 to 800 steps. Indeed, compared to the original standard bullet, the effective range and lethality have been reduced by more than half... A good sniper rifle has been downgraded!" Di Lie shook his head in dismay.

  Baret's original bullet can penetrate 8mm thick steel plate at 500 meters and 4mm thick steel plate at 1200 meters. The reloaded bullets made by Dilei, on the other hand, can penetrate infantry armor and leather armor at 500 meters, which is roughly equivalent to the protective power of a 4mm steel plate in later times. In other words, the effective range has been reduced by 700 meters. And this is still using solid heavy bullets. Because lead-core bullets have strong penetration but poor stopping power, they are more effective at penetrating armor but less effective at causing damage to the human body after impact, making it harder to create large wounds. To put it bluntly, it's not as easy to get a headshot anymore. Of course, if the distance is right, it's still possible.

  Fortunately, the quality of the cartridge case gave Dier a lot of comfort - usually, after each launch, the cartridge case would be slightly deformed and damaged, such as inner wall ablation, elongation of the mouth of the cartridge case, and non-elastic deformation under gas pressure, and the outer surface would also have oxidation wear and tear, and the primer would crack, accumulating to the point where it would eventually become unusable.

  However, these few rounds of strengthened bullet shells that have undergone metal variation, after repeated use several times, surprisingly remain intact and undamaged. Of course, there are also some disappointing aspects, that is, the farther the distance, the worse the shooting accuracy, and the more deviated the impact point is from the target. In other words, when shooting at targets over 1,000 meters away, it's best to aim at larger areas like the torso, otherwise there may be a chance of missing the target.

  As a sniper, can you still miss at 1200 meters? Di Lie was speechless, but what could he do? This was the 12th century after all. It was already quite impressive that they could produce bullets for him to use; how could he expect their performance to be on par with modern ones? He should just be content!

  Yang Zhechong was already a bit numb from the continuous shocks, and at this moment, he heard Di Lie's sighs, he could only be speechless. Being able to snipe the heavily armored golden soldiers from 700 or 800 steps away, what kind of shocking thing is this! And yet, he still sighed? What is called "human heart is never satisfied"...

  At this time, a fully armed soldier came running from afar. Di Lie took one glance and it was the guard who was supposed to be guarding the mountain path. Since the trial shooting was a highly confidential matter, Di Lie had stationed several heavily armored soldiers at the entrance of the mountain path, with strict orders that no one was allowed to enter without being summoned. Therefore, seeing the guard leave his post and run over, it was clear that something important must have happened.

  As expected, the guard brought important news: "The whereabouts of our kidnapped craftsmen have been investigated and they are all imprisoned in the Pearl King's Stockade on the north bank of the Yellow River."

  "What the heck is 'Pearl King'? Is it some kind of bandit? " Di Lie was baffled, hearing this nickname sounded like something out of Journey to the West, like those demons with titles like Golden Horn Great King or Silver Horn Great King.

  Yang Zhongche, who had been a Jin army prisoner for almost half a year, heard and saw everything in his daily life. He also knew a thing or two about the important figures in the Jin army. So he immediately replied: "The true pearl king is Wanyan Shiye Ma, the commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army of the Jin army, the Left Vice Generalissimo Zonghan's eldest son. This person is only twenty years old, and it is said that he has great bravery, excellent horsemanship, and is already a general in the Jin army, leading an independent army."

  "Oh, it's actually a Wanfu Zhang, and he's even the son of Zong Han, quite a high rank! " Di Lie unconsciously tossed the bullets up and down with one hand, stroking his chin with the other, deep in thought. Since dealing with the Jin army, this was his first encounter with a Wanfu Zhang. Needless to say, the so-called Pearl King's Fort must be heavily guarded, with layers of protection. Compared to the previous Bu Lu Fort and Gu Xin Fort, it's even more challenging."

  However, the "cannon sniper" in my hand has been revived, and for a short time, I don't have to worry about running out of bullets. Plus, during this period, I've urgently stockpiled a large number of explosive packs and thunderbolt shells... Hehe, even if you're an iron tortoise shell, I'll pry open your armor and expose the tender flesh inside...

  Di Lie waved his hand and laughed: "Let's go, let's meet this 'Steamed Pork' King!"