Semi-Automatic Rune Steam Repeating Crossbow

On the Windward Heights at the edge of Blackpine Fief, a hundred armored knights spread out along the slope to form a security line.

The silence was oppressive. Every eye was fixed on the firing position just erected at the center of the heights.

At first glance, it was hardly a pretty sight.

It lacked the meticulous symmetry of the Church's alchemical devices, as well as the intricate patterns nobles favored.

Every component was heavy and crude. Refined Steel rivets locked the Black Iron base deep into the rocky ground. A bulging brass boiler sat at the rear, while thick piston rods and connecting rods meshed together beneath a covering of Swamp Mud Toad hide.

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

Despite the name, Rune made up only a small part of it.

The boiler, pistons, and connecting rods did the real work. Rune reinforced only a few 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 was carved into the chassis to suppress recoil when it fired.

A first-tier Wind-Riding Rune sat at the front of the bolt groove, accelerating the heavy bolt the instant it left the weapon.

These Rune were not advanced. They were even a little shabby, so they did not require a master alchemical artificer to carve them. A few apprentice alchemical runesmiths could make them.

Shien had never intended to make an expensive alchemical device. He wanted something cheap that could take a beating.

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

Victor glanced at the boiler gauge, then checked the pressure-release valve. Once he was satisfied, he yanked down the high-pressure intake valve with his one arm.

In the next instant, the boiler brought a mixture of low-grade Sourceblood residue, alchemical accelerant, and water to a boil.

A low rumble came from the brass boiler walls. Heat surged up the pipes, and the pressure-release valve shrieked, blasting out a great plume of white steam.

Then the piston lunged forward, the connecting rod slammed into the gear assembly, and the entire repeating crossbow seemed to spring to life. Its bowstring, twisted from the great sinews of an Aberrant Demonic Beast, was drawn bit by bit to its limit.

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

A deep boom drowned out the wind.

The Balancing Rune lit up at once. The crossbow shook violently, but held steady.

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

Garrick kept his eye pressed to the telescope. Only several breaths later did he see the upper half of a dead tree eight hundred paces away explode, spraying wood chips and bark in every direction.

He froze for two seconds before slowly lowering the telescope. His Adam's apple bobbed with a hard swallow.

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 breathing out white vapor.

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

This time, they did not make do with a dead tree. They set up a real, heavy Tower Shield.

Its face was sheathed in a thick layer of Refined Steel plate, with three layers of solid oak behind it, as though it had been chosen expressly to test the weapon's limits.

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

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

The Refined Steel bolt tore through the wind and struck. The steel plate on the shield's face held for only an instant before it was pierced, and the three layers of solid oak behind it burst apart.

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 grasp the bolt's power.

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

For the third test, Shien said calmly, "Switch to the linked gear. Load the bolt magazine. Empty a full round."

The alchemy apprentice obeyed at once. He grabbed a fifteen-bolt sliding-rail magazine, slotted it into the feed port atop the crossbow, then stamped down the mechanical pedal for rapid-fire mode.

The moment his foot came down, the boiler's sound changed.

Steam battered through the pipes without pause. The piston and connecting rods blurred into a single afterimage.

Then fifteen short, vicious reports burst across the heights in succession.

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

Draw, feed, fire, reset—each step locked into the next, so fast it made 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 tore the gray haze aside, everyone saw that the area had been reduced to ruin.

Several spare target boards and the frozen ground behind them had been plowed apart. Bolt craters crowded together, while wood chips, shattered armor, and broken stones lay strewn everywhere.

Everyone fell silent. No one doubted that the weapon worked anymore. It worked, and its power was astonishing.

Even Victor, who had seen plenty in his time, stared hard at the Steam Repeating Crossbow still venting white vapor. For a long while, he could not form a complete sentence.

This 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 piercing snap suddenly cracked through the air.

Twang—!

They had pushed that last volley too hard, and the entire mechanism had turned too fast.

The thick string, made from repeatedly tanned Magic Beast sinew, could not take it. It snapped taut and broke at the instant it reset.

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

The Steam Repeating Crossbow, which had still been venting heat, fell silent. Only the pressure-release valve continued to hiss.

The excitement vanished from Victor's face. He hurried over, crouched, and used his remaining left hand to push aside the broken string. After a couple of looks, he frowned and said:

"My lord, ordinary creatures' sinews reach their limit at thirty shots at most. They can't withstand this firing rate or this draw weight.

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

When he finished, he looked down at the now-silent repeating crossbow, his face full of frustration.

Shien stood in the wind, his expression unchanged. "A few days ago, a 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 face shifting.

Shien ignored him and continued, "Shadow Venom Silk spun by high-level Night Spiders is far tougher than these Magic Beast sinews. It would be just right for a composite bowstring."

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

"Taking on a nest like that for a few bowstrings would cost too much. Give me a little more time. I'll keep testing in the Workshop. I might still 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 glanced at him. There was nothing fierce in his gaze, but Victor fell silent at once, almost by reflex.

"Victor, even if this repeating crossbow had no need of 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 gray mist.

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

"If they surge out in swarms, the outskirts of Blackpine Fief will have another breach that could split open at any moment.

"The spider silk is just a trophy we'll bring back along the way. What matters is tearing out that entire nest."

Victor stood where he was, his lips moving. In the end, he lowered his head and answered:

"Understood, my lord. The Workshop will prepare the next steps in advance. Once you bring back the Shadow Venom Silk, leave the rest to us."

Shien drew his gaze back from the depths of the gray mist and looked again at the Steam Repeating Crossbow, still venting white vapor. "This version is good enough. It can suppress lesser beast packs without trouble.

"But it's still not enough. Next, use this Steam Closed-Cycle System as your foundation and push it another step further. Don't worry too much about the cost. I want another version, bigger and fiercer."

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

Shien continued, "It doesn't matter if it fires more slowly or burns more fuel. I don't want it guarding an ordinary battle line. When the critical moment comes, I want it to threaten Demonic Beasts above the Third Tier."

Wind swept across the heights, carrying away a few lingering wisps of steam.

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