Crack! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thick gunpowder smoke obscured the view. Amid the reek of burning ammonia, the bullets spat out by the arquebuses tore into their targets. The Streit Gunners handled their firearms with remarkable skill.
Just watching them twirl the match cord to keep it lit, then slot it precisely into place, showed how much training they had been through. Scraping out the powder residue after every three shots mattered too.
"Ralph, you're disposing of the residue properly, right?"
"Yes. We're collecting it in one place and disposing of it as you instructed."
Most of the residue hardened like stone, since black powder tends to clump. The amount was considerable as well, so Ralph, the firearms manager, thought it a terrible waste.
"Do you know how shocked I was when you tried to reuse it?"
"I-I didn't know the residue was that dangerous."
