2: 001 Traveled back to the era of execution by firing squad_2 2: 001 Traveled back to the era of execution by firing squad_2 The enemy’s formation was very dispersed, seeming to be skirmishers executing harassing operations in front of the line infantry battalion.
Anning heard soone nearby exclaim, “Where are our skirmishers?”
The next mont, Anning saw the flash of gunfire.
The sound of the guns ca a beat slower, and the bullet had already pierced through the soldier in front of Anning who was replacing a noble lord as leader.
People next to Anning were also hit by bullets, scattering and falling in heaps, with only Anning and the flag-bearer four places away still standing.
Anning closed his eyes once again, waiting for death to co—damn it, this kind of ti-travel is a real trap!
But no more bullets ca.
He opened his eyes and saw the skirmishers in front reloading.
However, since the rifles used by the skirmishers sought accuracy with rifling, the bullets and the barrel fit more tightly, so a mallet was needed to hamr the bullet down into the barrel using a ramrod.
In short, these precise muzzle-loading guns were extrely slow to reload.
At this mont, the command from afar on the left ca: “All halt!”
Anning’s hands reflexively beat the drum signal for “halt!”, as the marching drum was used to command the column’s progress in the age of line infantry.
“Present arms!” The command still ca from a great distance.
After many people’s “transmission,” the command sounded like it had an echo.
Anning had no rifle, he only had his marching drum.
So of the opposing skirmishers had finished reloading and, seeing that this side had stopped to prepare to shoot, they fired and imdiately turned to run.
The skirmishers’ task was to harass, not to exchange fire with the line infantry.
Since there was no volley firing, the killing efficiency of this round was much lower than that of the initial volley firing, but the skirmishers’ rifled guns were much more accurate than flintlocks, and quite a few people around Anning fell to the ground.
Anning silently prayed in his heart: Don’t hit , don’t hit !
The command ca: “Fire!”
The following gunfire almost deafened Anning.
Anning’s entire field of vision was obscured by the smoke created by the flintlock fire, a vast white where he could see nothing at all.
The air was full of the acrid sll of incomplete gunpowder combustion.
At this mont, Anning inexplicably changed his drumming pattern, starting to beat a series of short drumbeats—
Anning realized he was using the drumbeat to pace the troops’ reloading; he rembered watching a show on the Discovery Channel, where in the era of execution by firing squad, the completion ti for every step of line infantry reloading was akin to a asure in three-quarter beat music.
And Anning’s short drumbeats were in three-quarter ti.
Anning surmised that he must have soul-traveled to a well-trained drumr, so his body had ford muscle mory.
While playing the beats, he glanced sidelong at his comrades and then noticed the companion closest to him on the left—the closest living companion, his hand shaking as he untied the pre-loaded gunpowder pouch, almost spilling all the gunpowder on the ground.
Then the man simply poured the remaining little bit of gunpowder into the barrel and moved on to the next step.
—Fuck, our army is finished!
This level of training…
At that instant, a cannonball flew over, and Anning’s observed companion was gone, leaving just two severed lower legs sticking out of the ground.
Anning cursed in his heart, and then, because his hands were too sweaty, he didn’t hold the drumstick tightly, and it fell to the ground.
—Damn!
He was about to pick up the drumstick when he saw the white smoke from the recent firing dissipate, and the enemy line infantry also ca into view.
The enemy’s uniforms looked like they were from Prussia…
The Kingdom of France fighting Prussia?
The Seven Years’ War, perhaps?
Anning could clearly hear the enemy’s martial music.
The bright bayonets on the other side, like a neat forest, moved swiftly towards Anning’s direction.
Anning, who lived in an era of peace, had never seen such a formation.
The command ca: “Present arms!”
Anning felt that the person issuing the command was clearly panicking, as it was given a bit too early.
Anning looked around and found that many comrades had not finished reloading, frantically pulling out their ramrods.
—It’s over it’s over it’s over…
“Aim!”
Anning saw a comrade in such a hurry to stuff the pulled-out ramrod back into the slot below the flintlock that he couldn’t make it fit, threw away the ramrod in frustration, and lifted his rifle—
“Fire!”
A shower of gunfire once again assailed Anning’s ears.
The white smoke once again completely blocked the view, concealing the enemy’s gray uniforms and the shining forest of bayonets.
The results of the volley were completely unobservable.
He could only hear the enemy’s martial music growing louder and louder.
In the sky, another li bomb exploded, and the li that fell in waves caused many to scream out in pain.
Amidst the screams, the enemy’s martial music beca even more majestic, while the music of Anning’s side was as if it had fizzled out.
With the corner of his eye, Anning saw in their now much looser formation, so people were quietly retreating.
At this mont, the smoke cleared, and the enemy line infantry shockingly appeared within fifty ters in front, Anning could even make out the decorations and dals on the leading officer’s attire.
Then the enemy’s command was heard.
“Order arms!”
And the column ceased to advance.
“Present arms!”
That uniform forest of bayonets uniformly lowered in a flash.
Anning felt utterly despondent, profoundly recognizing that death was opening its arms to him.
—Damn this is not fair!
I didn’t even have ti to accept that I had traveled through ti, now I’m fucking going to die here!
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