Semi-Automatic Rune Steam Repeating Crossbow

On Windward Heights outside Blackpine Fief, a hundred armored knights spread out along the slope to form a defensive line.

The silence was oppressive. Every eye rested on the newly built firing position at the center of the heights.

At first glance, it was hardly a pretty sight.

It lacked the careful symmetry of the Church's alchemical devices and the elaborate ornamentation nobles favored.

Every part was heavy and rough. Refined Steel rivets anchored the Black Iron base deep into the rock. A bulbous brass boiler sat at the rear, while thick piston rods and connecting rods meshed together beneath a covering of Swamp Mud Toad skin.

But this was Blackpine Fief's first Semi-Automatic Rune Steam Repeating Crossbow.

Despite its name, runes made up only a small part of it.

The boiler, pistons, and connecting rods did the real work. Runes reinforced only the most critical points.

A first-tier Minor Fortification Rune was carved into the middle of the crossbow to keep its guide rail from deforming under high pressure.

A second-tier Balancing Rune on the chassis suppressed the recoil when it fired.

A first-tier Wind-Riding Rune at the front of the bolt channel accelerated the heavy bolts as soon as they left it.

None of these runes was advanced. They were almost shabby. There was no need for an Alchemical Construct Master to inscribe them personally; a few alchemical rune apprentices could make them.

Shien had never intended to build an expensive alchemical device. He wanted something cheap and tough.

As soon as the crossbow was installed, the test began.

Victor glanced at the boiler gauge, checked the pressure-release valve, then yanked open the high-pressure intake valve with his one arm.

A moment later, the low-grade Sourceblood residue in the boiler came to a boil with the alchemical accelerant and water.

A dull rumble sounded from the brass boiler. Steam surged through the pipes, and the pressure-release valve shrieked as it blasted out a great plume of white vapor.

Then the piston lunged forward. The connecting rods drove into the gears, and the whole crossbow seemed to come alive. Its bowstring, twisted from the thick tendons of an Aberrant Demon Beast, was drawn bit by bit to its limit.

Victor stared down the sights, his voice hoarse. "Fire!"

A deep bang drowned out the wind.

The Balancing Rune flared. The crossbow shuddered violently but held steady.

As for the bolt, no one there saw the instant it left the channel.

Garrick kept his eye to the telescope. Several breaths passed before he saw the upper half of a dead tree eight hundred paces away explode, scattering splinters and bark.

He froze for two seconds, then slowly lowered the telescope and swallowed hard.

He was not alone. After that first shot, the heights remained silent for a long time.

No one spoke. Only the Steam Repeating Crossbow kept venting white steam.

For the second test, Shien moved the target to two hundred paces.

This time, he replaced the dead tree with a real heavy Tower Shield.

A thick Refined Steel plate covered its face, with three layers of solid oak behind it. It looked as though it had been brought there specifically to test the crossbow's limits.

An ordinary bolt could never pierce it. Even a Rhythm Realm knight swinging a heavy weapon might not break through it in one blow.

The boiler hissed again, and the second heavy bolt shot from the channel.

The Refined Steel bolt tore through the air and slammed into the shield. It punched through the plate in an instant, then shattered all three layers of solid oak behind it.

The bolt still had force to spare. It buried itself deep in the rock wall beyond, leaving only half its fletching exposed and trembling.

This time, the target was close enough for everyone to understand the bolt's power.

Even Ivan, who stood behind Shien, stared blankly at the wreckage that could no longer be called a shield. After a long pause, he blurted out, "Holy shit, that's powerful!"

For the third test, Shien said evenly, "Switch the linked gears. Load the bolt magazine. Empty a full round."

The alchemical apprentice obeyed at once. He picked up a fifteen-bolt sliding magazine, locked it into the feed slot atop the crossbow, then stamped down the mechanical pedal for rapid-fire mode.

The moment he did, the boiler's sound changed.

Steam hammered through the pipes in a continuous rush. The pistons and connecting rods blurred together.

Then fifteen short, savage reports burst across the heights.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...

Draw the string, drop a bolt, fire, reset. Each motion followed the last so quickly it made their scalps prickle.

In less than three seconds, all fifteen heavy bolts had fired.

The target area two hundred paces away vanished into smoke and dust.

When the wind swept the haze aside, everyone saw what remained.

The spare target boards and the frozen ground behind them had been torn apart. Bolt craters crowded together amid splintered wood, shattered armor, and broken stones.

No one said a word. No one doubted the weapon anymore. It worked, and its power was astonishing.

Even the well-traveled Victor stared at the Steam Repeating Crossbow as it continued venting white steam. For a long while, he could not form a complete sentence.

It was more than a crossbow. It was a weapon built to meet a Beast Tide head-on.

Before anyone had recovered from that volley, a sharp snap suddenly rang out.

Snap!

The volley had pushed the mechanism too hard and driven it too fast.

The thick bowstring, made from repeatedly cured monster tendon, could not take it. It snapped as the mechanism reset.

The broken string lashed against the Refined Steel base, carving several deep marks into it.

The Steam Repeating Crossbow, which had still been venting hot vapor, fell silent. Only the pressure-release valve kept hissing.

The excitement vanished from Victor's face. He hurried forward, crouched, and pushed the broken string aside with his remaining left hand. After two looks, his brow tightened, and he said:

"My lord, ordinary creature tendon loses its resilience after thirty shots at most. It can't withstand this firing rate or this draw force.

"If we keep testing at this intensity, every replacement will snap. We didn't account for that in the design."

He lowered his gaze to the now-silent crossbow, his expression full of frustration.

Shien stood in the wind, his expression unchanged. "A few days ago, the patrol brought back a report. They found a Night Spider nest near the edge of the gorge."

Victor paused and looked up at him, his expression shifting.

Shien continued, "Shadow Venom Silk spun by high-tier Night Spiders is far tougher than monster tendon. It would make an excellent Composite Bowstring."

"My lord, no!" Victor blurted out. "Night Spiders aren't ordinary Demon Beasts. They move in groups, their caves run layer upon layer, and they're highly venomous.

"Taking on a nest like that for a few bowstrings costs too much. Give me a little more time. I'll keep testing in the Workshop. I might find another material."

As Victor saw it, a materials problem could be solved in the Workshop. Trading knights' lives for a few strands of silk was not worth it.

Shien slowly turned and looked at him. There was nothing fierce in his gaze, but Victor fell silent on instinct.

"Victor, even if this crossbow didn't need a bowstring, I would still clear out that spider nest in Ashen Gorge."

Shien raised a hand toward the outline of the mountains to the west, swallowed by the Gray Fog.

"They're holed up in the gorge now. That doesn't mean they'll stay there. When the Blood Moon Season truly bears down on us, a place like that will become a ready-made outbreak point.

"If they swarm out, Blackpine Fief's outer defenses will have another gap that could split open at any moment.

"The silk is just a trophy we can bring back while we're there. What matters is wiping out the entire nest."

Victor stood where he was. His lips moved, but in the end he lowered his head and answered:

"Understood, my lord. The Workshop will prepare the next steps in advance. Bring back the Shadow Venom Silk, and we'll handle the rest."

Shien drew his gaze back from the depths of the Gray Fog and looked again at the Steam Repeating Crossbow, still venting white steam. "This version is good enough. It'll have no trouble holding back the lower-tier hordes.

"But it isn't enough. Use this Steam Closed-Cycle System as your foundation and take it a step further. Don't worry too much about consumption. I want another version, bigger and more powerful."

Victor's lone eye narrowed, and his breathing grew heavy.

Shien continued, "It can fire more slowly and burn more fuel. I don't need it to hold a regular defensive line. I need it to threaten Demon Beasts above the Third Tier when it matters."

Wind swept across the heights, carrying off the last wisps of steam.

Victor stood, his gaunt chest rising visibly. "Understood, my lord. I'll build it."