Siege mode was the most penetrating attack mode. Even Castel rarely deployed these steam rifles—their ammunition was limited, and once it was used up, that was it.
It was not that Theus had not considered making more. Though this weapon was nominally called a rifle, its power could almost rival that of a large-caliber cannon.
But after some preliminary research, he abandoned the idea.
The steam used by this steam rifle was mercury vapor. It fired using high-temperature, high-pressure mercury vapor as its driving force. What kind of alien technology was that?
Let alone present-day Castel, even Blue Star had no technology tree this bizarre. Like the mechanical priest who had killed Theus last time, it was a technological creation that simply could not be understood.
Still, there was no point hoarding good things forever without using them. While Theus could not reproduce mercury vapor rifles, large-caliber cannons were something he could genuinely make.
By then, these steam rifles would probably become rather useless. They might as well use them now.
The Banshees pulled their levers in unison. Compressed mercury vapor from the steam canisters flowed through the pipes into the barrels, where pistons compressed it to the limit. At Nini's command, they aimed at [Loving Mother's] head.
[Loving Mother] seemed to sense the threat as well. It shrieked and extended its limbs, trying to swat Nini and the others. But the Banshees providing fire support from behind were not useless. They immediately raked the descending limb with bullets. The dense barrage tore through flesh and actually severed it.
Nini and the others had already closed in before [Loving Mother]. Chunks of flesh falling from above landed on them with strange sizzling sounds, sending up wisps of white smoke.
"Fire!!"
At Nini's command, the steam rifles erupted with deafening blasts.