Berserk: The Prophet

As Trunks explained, he finished loading the gunpowder. With a "click," the box was pushed back in, and the internal mechanism felt noticeably different from before. Some small parts had been reset.

"I understand, it's not something too many people can know about, right?" The more Green looked at the hand cannon on his left arm, the cooler it seemed. It was incredible; in a world dominated by cold weapons, it was practically a small cheat code. Although artillery was already in common use on the battlefield in Swordwind's territory, there had been no progress at all in firearms like matchlock guns.

“Good that you understand. The movable serpent rod on top is used to attach the match cord. Remember to light it before the battle. The only drawback is that the match cord inside is not very long. It will burn out in about one or two hours and you will have to replace it with a new one. The match cord is in the long tube compartment here.” Trunks continued as he spoke, opening the compartment at his wrist and fixing the match cord of the same length to the fork of the serpent rod.

"The best way is naturally to light it with a match. This little gadget was invented by the old man and those alchemists. It's really amazing. In the whole of Barkley, only Pence can afford such a luxurious alchemical item. Most of the common people in Barkley still use flint as their main means of starting a fire."

"Good heavens, it really is a match."

Green was completely dumbfounded. Were matches just invented? He must have used lighters so much in his past life that he had almost forgotten that matches even existed.

"Huh? You know what?"

[System: Warning! Do not reveal your identity.]

“Uh… I heard it from Fetnas.”

Green quickly changed his tune, saying that as expected, it was impossible to reveal his previous worldview here. However, it seemed that the system had now reverted to its previous state.

"Well, it's nothing special. Keep this matchbox. This is how it will burn. The old man said it's phosphorus or something. I don't know anything about it, but that's how it's used."

Trunks struck the red matchstick against the blue side of the box, and the match was lit. He then lit the match cord, which actually burned rather slowly rather than quickly.

This flame... Green felt like he didn't really need a match, because the level one Dragon Flame skill the system gave him was only this small. At first, he thought it was some kind of awesome skill, but it turned out to be just a tiny little flame, barely big enough to start a fire for cooking.

"That completes the preparation. Now you need to pull this small lever back. It will take some force, and you must make a click to lock the lever in place. Now try shooting. The recoil of this thing is quite strong. Try aiming at the target over there. The sights on this thing will pop up when you press this button."

"click"

Trunks pressed a button on the upper side of the hand cannon, and a "U"-shaped crosshair appeared above the hand cannon.

Wow, that's so advanced! Isn't that lever on the back just like the safety bar on a pistol?

"Raise your left arm, align your eyes, shoulder, and arm with a single point, aim according to the position of the crosshair, and remember to keep your wrist down, otherwise the residual fuel from the bullet will heat up the arm armor and burn the back of your hand. Keep your arm steady, I believe that with your build, raising your heavier arm shouldn't be too difficult."

Trunks guided Green on his stance, operating methods, and precautions.

“Once you’ve aimed, align the burning match cord on the serpent’s shaft with the round hole above it, and then… hold the gun firmly against your forearm with your right hand and pull the outer groove.” Trunks placed Grimm’s right hand, which was covered in arm armor, into the outer groove.

Green focused intently on the target, stabilizing the gun with his right hand and pressing the groove on the outside of his forearm as Trunks had instructed.

"Click!" "Bang!" "Smack!"

With the sound of the groove being pressed, sparks of the pill ejected from the muzzle shot out in an instant, flying out like a meteor and hitting the bullseye. A two-centimeter hole was punched in the center of the target, and the steel ball even flew a distance further. The shooting distance here was 150 meters.

The powerful recoil almost made Green take a step back, his entire upper body visibly jolted backward.

"Not bad, you hit the bullseye." Seranti, who had been sitting on the bench behind them, could tell how well he had shot just by glancing at the target.

Wow, it has such a strong aftereffect.

Although I was mentally prepared, I was still somewhat surprised by the recoil, but the effect of this arquebus was outstanding.

"Haha, not bad. Try firing a couple more shots. Sometimes in critical situations, you have to fire in bursts. As long as you don't pull the small lever at the back, it won't go off accidentally. Of course, if the smoldering matchlock accidentally goes out, there won't be much recoil, and the projectiles won't have much force."

"understood."

Green pulled the lever behind him, re-secured the matchlock that had been bent out of place by the gunpowder, aimed... and then pulled the trigger on the outside of his left arm.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Three shots were fired in quick succession. Although not every shot hit the bullseye, at least none missed. Only Seranti frowned slightly; the accuracy was too poor. Enemies on the battlefield wouldn't stand still and let you shoot them.

"As long as the match cord isn't crooked, it doesn't need to be adjusted every time. Just adjust it when this section is almost burnt out, leaving two centimeters of the match cord sticking out. The mechanism and distance of this hand cannon are all designed in advance. There is a safety iron plate on the powder bath. When you pull the trigger, the serpent rod will move downwards by itself, and the powder bath cover will also move open."

"I see."

"Well, then it's time to maintain the weapon. After firing a few rounds, at most seven rounds, remember to use a smooth wooden stick to loosen any remaining gunpowder in the trajectory. If you keep using it, it will clog the trajectory and become unusable, and it will explode, kid."

"understood."

"Yes, these bullets are all made of mithril, which is deadly enough for those heretical demons. Ordinary swords and blades can hardly hurt them. Don't underestimate these bullets; each one is priceless. Now, go and collect them."

Green: "......"

"Ha! Why are you looking at me like that? You should know that mithril of the same weight is hundreds of times more expensive than silver dinars of the same weight, and it's also extremely rare and hard to find."

"What the heck?" Green quickly went to the firing range to find his "treasure," because it was just too expensive—500 dinars a round!

One has to admire the power of mithril; even embedded in the wall, it remains intact, resembling a marble. Wipe away the dust, blow on it, and it's still shiny, just like new. Judging from the pits and dents on the stone wall, it's clear that this place has been hit by bullets many times. This stone wall must have been deliberately built here to intercept bullets.