Published: December 18th 2024, 7:15:30 am
A Peaceful Land of the Orcs (4.7)
"Blue 03, Blue 03. Do you copy? This is Exercise Control Center."
A different voice, coming from another direction, reached through magic communication. Not far away.
From the ground—likely from the exercise control officer accompanying the Red Army unit.
"Exercise Control Center, Exercise Control Center. Blue 03, loud and clear. Over."
"Blue 03, it has been determined that you were hit by ground fire. Continuing aerial reconnaissance is deemed difficult. Immediately vacate the current airspace and return to your departure point to await further instructions. Over."
"Control Center, Blue 03, understood... I’ll fly a little higher next time. Returning now. Over."
The Giant Eagle flapped its wings with a whoosh, swiveled its beak, and disappeared into the northern sky.
"Hey, you. Yes, you over there."
A voice came from behind—it was Captain Raelnoa Celebrin.
Speaking to a nearby grenade-toting guardsman from the Control Center, she laced her tone with a hint of sweetness.
With chestnut hair and soft, drooping eyes, Raelnoa's charming features and dulcet voice could likely captivate nearly any male of any race.
However, Dineluth knew better.
One should never be fooled by her looks or tone.
Raelnoa was sharp, resourceful, and innovative, using whatever she could to her advantage and never failing to seize her prey. That's why she was their operations strategist.
"Y-Yes, Captain. What can I do for you...?"
The unfortunate prey—a soldier of the Orc race—was visibly flustered.
Could such a beautiful creature truly exist in this world?
That was the sentiment written all over his face.
"I have a small favor to ask. Could you let me see your rifle for a moment?"
"Well... I am on guard duty, so..."
"My, how diligent of you. Admirable, really. Then just tell me the maximum sight range of your rifle. That will suffice."
"Huh? Oh, 1,500 meters."
"Is that so? Thank you. You may return to your post."
Raelnoa returned to where Dineluth and their chief strategist, Iavasril Ainalind, were standing and whispered softly.
"Did you hear that, sisters?"
"Indeed. Very enlightening. You were curious as well, huh? About a rifle capable of scoring a hit on an eagle flying at such altitudes."
"...I 'd heard rumors and read about it in manuals, but seeing it for myself is another matter. Orcsen rifles are truly extraordinary..."
"A maximum sight range of 1,500 meters? Then, its effective range must be closer to 1,700 or even 1,800 meters."
"Unbelievable, isn’t it?"
"Absolutely astounding."
They were discussing the range capabilities of military rifles.
Nowadays, all military rifles worldwide were equipped with a movable "sight scale" near the mechanism. Also called a "rear sight," this feature allowed the shooter to adjust the aiming apparatus according to the distance to the target.
Aligning the sight scale with the desired shooting distance and locking it in place enabled accurate targeting within the rifle's performance limits. By aligning the rear sight and the front sight on the muzzle, one could achieve hits within the defined range.
The Orcsen Army's infantry manual prescribed an ideal engagement range of 1,000 meters. This was the range at which soldiers could manually adjust the sights, aim by eye, and hit their target. (Though accuracy decreases with distance, so in practice, volleys are fired as a unit to create suppressive fire.)
Even at this range, it surpassed other nations. Most armies designated 800 meters as the standard engagement range.
Maximum range—the furthest distance a rifle could fire a bullet—was usually around 1,000 meters, with exceptional rifles reaching 1,200 meters.
However, the latest Orcsen rifle, formally adopted two years ago—the 11mm single-shot bolt-action Erhard Gew74—had a maximum range of 1,700 meters.
Naturally, in any engagement, the Orcsen forces would hold the advantage.
Even at the same 800-meter engagement range, the superior bullet trajectory and penetration power of Orcsen rifles would dominate. Additionally, enemy forces attempting to close the gap would be exposed to unilateral fire.
This was a testament to Orcsen's advanced technological prowess.
The bolt-action mechanism itself addressed a long-standing issue for breech-loading rifles: the loss of propellant gases during firing. Unlike old muskets, which were loaded from the muzzle, breech-loading rifles were more complex and prone to gas leakage at the mechanism.
These gases provided the forward force propelling the bullet, so leakage reduced energy transfer to the bullet.
The Erhard Gew74 was the first rifle to completely solve this issue.
As Dineluth had heard when their unit began assembling in Orcsen, this rifle featured an exquisitely engineered mechanism with minimal gaps, achieved through precise design and high-precision manufacturing using Morim Steel.
Additionally, Orcsen had improved the ammunition.
Most military rifles worldwide used bullets of approximately 11mm caliber, a standard arrived at after much trial and error—or mutual imitation—across nations.
Why 11mm?
The black powder used in traditional cartridges burned explosively upon ignition, imparting a brief burst of energy to the bullet. Bullets larger or smaller than 11mm would fail to efficiently utilize this energy.
Orcsen, however, developed a new propellant: brown powder.