Summoning Russian Federation

Chapter 33: The Research Complex.

"Russian Federation. Undetermined location. Research Complex No. 5."

- What's wrong? - the man in the white coat asked, raising his eyebrows curiously.

- Anatoly Petrovich, we have exciting news. We have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the magical muzzle-loading rifles of the Parpaldian Empire. Look at this! - exclaimed the man in the white robe, his voice sounding full of enthusiasm as he held the arquebus in his hands. - Please put on your headphones.

After the science advisor put on his headphones, the tester turned toward the targets, gripping the forend tightly. He struck a pose, cocked the magic lock with his thumb, took aim, and gently squeezed the trigger. The trigger hit the cover, and three or four seconds later the wooden butt rested in his shoulder. A rumble echoed through the hall as the lead bullet pierced the middle circle of the target at a distance of three hundred meters, leaving a large hole in it.

- Fascinating...for a muzzleloading arquebusa such accuracy is amazing. Does this use pelletized powder? - Anatoly asked, looking through the monocular of the rangefinder.

- Indeed, it is impressive, but no, it doesn't use granulated powder at all, which we are used to, - answered the arquebusa tester, smiling slightly.

"It is fired by a special enchanted powder that has nothing to do with ordinary gunpowder," the tester explained, noticing the nod of his interlocutor. "Notice this stone in the trigger?" - he continued, lifting the stone into view. "This is no ordinary flint, it's a magic stone. When it hits the cap, it activates the magical powder, causing it to glow and heat up dramatically. Thus, all the energy is transferred to the lead bullet. But despite this, our arquebusa has one drawback, which is typical for Earth models as well - it is a long reloading time. However, the accuracy more than compensates for this disadvantage. The Parpaldians have chosen an alternative path in the development of their weapons. Although their arquebuses are similar to our Earth counterparts such as fusees, they have overcome the stages of using wicks and wheellocks. The same magical lock we have works on the principle of a percussion-flint lock. 

- Interesting... - the head of research muttered thoughtfully, rubbing his graying beard. - Denis Denisovich, do you have any other interesting details?

- Yes, Anatoly Borisovich, during our expedition to the Palace, we discovered a very fascinating weapon, Denis Denisovich began, raising his eyebrows with interest. - But, unfortunately, at the moment we are at the testing stage, and we can't present concrete results yet.

- I see, Denis Denisovich, go on, Anatoly Borisovich replied, staring intently at his colleague.

- In addition, we were interested in the warships of Parpaldia, especially their dragon carriers and line ships," Denis continued, expanding the topic. - The former are sort of ersatz aircraft carriers, used for transporting and supplying wyverns. And the latter amazed us with their guns, which have enormous power, comparable to the weapons of the nineteenth century.

- Amazing, - Anatoly Borisovich said, nodding thoughtfully. - To give an analogy with our world on our home planet, if the Empire of Parpaldia had been in the seventeenth or eighteenth century, neither the British Empire, nor the Russian Empire, nor the Holy Roman Empire, nor the French Empire would have stood against it in a war. Even if the powers of those times had entered into a coalition.

- That's right," Denis agreed, confirming his supervisor's words. - The most frightening trump card of Parpaldia is a colossal reserve in the army. According to our estimates, its army is capable of total mobilization, putting up to four million people, which could have a huge impact on the economy. But most impressive were her wyverns and earth dragons, which could have a decisive impact on the outcome of the battle. Artillery and small arms of the time would have been ineffective against these reptiles, while they covered the skies with impunity, raining down torrents of fire charges and turning entire battalions to ash. Their fiery attacks were so devastating that standard defense methods were virtually powerless against them.