Descending On France 1780
Chapter 320 - 313 Taking shortcuts

Chapter 320: 313 Taking shortcuts

After the weapon craftsman had checked the weapons, De Mulan and Pauline each walked to opposite sides of the table where the guns were laid out.

Pauline smiled the moment she touched the gun; she could be considered an old soldier and was quite familiar with rear-loading rifled guns.

On Anning’s side, the weapon craftsman had prepared a gun for Pauline with the rifling deliberately made less distinct. Then, at the position for rear-loading, the craftsman also intentionally made a disguise.

But someone familiar with firearms would recognize there was a trick to it at a glance.

Unfortunately, De Mulan didn’t see it.

Pauline had no psychological resistance to using this weapon to win the duel. On the contrary, she was eager to try it.

It should be said that as Napoleon’s sister, just like Napoleon himself, she didn’t have the concept of winning dishonorably. She believed that employing any means to win was acceptable as long as the end result was victory.

The gun Anning gave to Pauline was already loaded. Because of the more advanced design of the rear-loading rifled gun, it had a much longer standby time after being loaded compared to a regular flintlock gun, allowing for advance loading.

However, Pauline picked up the gun and still went through the motions of a series of loading actions before holding the gun to her chest and taking a deep breath.

Robespierre walked into the center of the arena, beginning to play his role.

"Are both parties ready?"

At this moment, De Mulan actually became nervous. He straightened the front of his clothes, steadied his gun, and after a few deep breaths, nodded at Robespierre: "I am ready."

Robespierre turned towards Pauline, who immediately said, "I am ready to start at any time! Come and meet your fate!"

De Mulan sneered: "Hmph, if you die, I suppose we might see Frost shedding tears, which would be a scene never witnessed by the members of the Jacobin Club."

Pauline: "I’m not going to die. After all, my area of target is so much smaller than yours, the probability of a bullet hitting me is much lower than hitting you."

De Mulan: "Let’s wait and see then."

At this point, Robespierre coughed to interrupt the conversation: "I must emphasize beforehand that this duel is a civilized one. As soon as someone is hit, the duel ends, and nobody may act after I command to cease!

"We are different from the nobles; we are people who have read books, who possess knowledge and insight, hence we must demonstrate that distinction!"

The citizens of Paris, who had gathered from all directions unbeknownst to the others, cheered at Robespierre’s words.

At least at that moment, Robespierre still appeared to be a hero in the eyes of most Parisians.

Robespierre took out his pocket watch to confirm the time and then loudly ordered: "The duel, begin!"

The previously prepared band of soldiers began to drum.

Amazed, Anning exclaimed, "Is the drumbeat being used to coordinate their steps? There was no such step when I dueled before."

As a witness, Dan Dong nodded, "At least in terms of formality, this duel has already far outstripped the ones from the past."

De Mulan and Pauline walked to the two ends of the square, stepping in time with the drumbeat.

At the moment when the drumbeat suddenly stopped, De Mulan turned around and raised his gun.

But Pauline was more agile, turning around faster, and her gun sounded first.

Then the unexpected happened.

The rear-loading rifled gun that Anning had racked his brains to equip Pauline with, which should have vastly outperformed the accuracy of the flintlock pistols of the same era.

Pauline fired a shot from that distance but completely missed; the bullet went who knows where.

Anning broke into a sweat, thinking if Pauline were to fall here, Napoleon would become his sworn enemy.

Immediately, Pauline began loading her weapon without even looking at De Mulan, as if she had no worry that De Mulan would shoot her down with one shot.

De Mulan fired, and his bullet also disappeared without a trace.

He promptly bent down to start loading as well, and because he lowered his head, he didn’t see Pauline opening the locking mechanism at the rear of her gun to reload from behind—

But at this moment, Robespierre shouted loudly, "Stop!"

Both Pauline and De Mulan looked up at Robespierre.

Robespierre said: "Miss Bonaparte, how is your gun reloaded from the back? No, this is unfair. Either both of you use standard flintlock pistols, or both of you use rear-loading weapons."

At that time, Anning spoke: "Maximilien, do you think someone accustomed to front-loading firearms can instantly adapt to rear-loading guns? For someone like De Mulan who has no military experience, taking a rear-loading gun would likely put him at an even greater disadvantage."

Robespierre was not persuaded: "No, I’ve also heard that there are riflings in your front-loading gun, which would make it more accurate. This is obviously unfair!

"Since De Mulan cannot use a rear-loading gun, let’s settle it this way: both of you should duel with old-fashion, standard pistols."

Pauline responded: "I have no objections, you know. I was planning to rely on my own intelligence and luck to defeat him without considering using a rifled gun."

Robespierre’s expression seemed to acknowledge the implication, and he glanced at Anning without hiding his anger.

Anning curled his lips.

If Anning had known beforehand that Robespierre would be the third-party witness to the duel, he certainly wouldn’t have attempted such a trick.

Robespierre was a man who couldn’t tolerate any deceit; upon discovering cheating, he would surely prioritize justice over any Frost or General, with everything else to be dealt with later.

Moments later, both Pauline and De Mulan had switched to old-style pistols.

Robespierre deliberately ordered the presentation of unloaded guns so that the disrupted duel could start from the point of bullet loading.

Robespierre personally tossed the inspected guns in front of the two contestants, took his leisurely spot as witness, and then loudly declared: "You may begin!"

De Mulan and Pauline both lunged for the guns and cartridge pouches on the ground.

Pauline was adept at loading, having come out of the Briena Military Academy; this was her forte.

De Mulan was clearly less agile at loading than Pauline, and he was also influenced by Pauline, sneakily glancing at her loading progress from time to time.

Seeing Pauline load smoothly, De Mulan visibly grew tense.

Then, with a tremble of his hand, the gunpowder and bullet that should have been poured into the barrel spilled out onto the paper wrapper.

Without hesitation, De Mulan grabbed a new prepared paper cartridge, tore open the seal, and poured the bullet mixed with the gunpowder into the gun—

At this point, Pauline had finished loading. She raised the gun, took careful aim at De Mulan, and then pulled the trigger.

De Mulan was hit in the right chest, and his gun fell to the ground.

He clutched his chest, knelt in agony.

Robespierre gestured broadly: "That’s enough! The victor is Pauline Bonaparte!"

Anning let out a slight sigh of relief, while Dan Dong rushed toward De Mulan, shouting, "A doctor! Where is a doctor? De Mulan—my friend, he’s bleeding all over the place!"