Chapter 390 192: Steampunk Unit (3)

To be on the safe side, Li Ziyu didn't set up the testing ground on the Bone Plate Platform. Instead, he left the fortress and tested the new unit in a place near the Wraith Mountain Range.

Along the way, he discovered the Skeleton Shooter-1 Type's first shortcoming: its speed. The thing had so many components installed that it was incredibly heavy. Every step left a deep footprint, and its movement speed was even slower than a normal Skeleton Undead. In other words, it moved slower than an old man out for an evening stroll.

After trudging to the testing site, Li Ziyu first had the Skeleton Shooter-1 Type load its ammunition.

The Skeleton Shooter-1 Type raised its left hand, aimed it at the loading port, and began feeding in specialized bullets with a series of clicks.

Li Ziyu leaned in curiously and discovered a small mechanism on its left arm. It connected directly to the loading port, allowing the Shooter to easily press the bullets in.

After the ammunition was loaded, the Gears on the Skeleton Shooter-1 Type's body began to turn as steam billowed out. It then easily pulled back the forestock, chambering a round.

'Amazing!'

Li Ziyu raised an eyebrow. He had tried it himself earlier and had only managed to chamber a round with great effort. Now, the Skeleton Shooter-1 Type had done it easily using the device on its body, making Li Ziyu even more eager for the upcoming tests.

"Attack the target!" Li Ziyu said, backing up several meters and pointing at the target ahead.

It was a Skeleton Undead, after all, not as simple-minded as a Frenzied Skeleton. It waited for Li Ziyu's command before it opened fire.

The first shot was aimed at a thick wooden plank. It was a direct hit, dead center. The entire plank exploded with a BOOM, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Li Ziyu didn't even look at the wooden target. His gaze was fixed intently on the Skeleton Shooter-1 Type. He wanted to know how the Undead had solved the recoil problem.

Just before the Skeleton Shooter-1 Type pulled the trigger, a piece of its leg guards suddenly extended, dropping to the ground to anchor its body. After it fired, pipes on its body vented white smoke, bleeding off some of the recoil, while large springs around its reinforced shoulder blades absorbed the remainder.

This series of actions allowed the Skeleton Shooter-1 Type to remain completely still when firing and maintain steady control of the weapon, making its shots much more accurate.

Li Ziyu wondered if the Skeleton Undead had secretly been studying physics and mechanics. How else could they have developed such a modification?

Now that he understood how the recoil problem was solved, the formal testing phase began. It was just a matter of shooting one target after another.

The Skeleton Shooter-1 Type's chambering speed wasn't fast. It paused before each new round, allowing the components on its body to cycle and prepare for the next shot. While its rate of fire was slow, its power was truly immense, and it was able to damage all types of targets.

It couldn't punch through the target made of pure metal, but it still left the surface pockmarked with dents.

'If I'd had this unit back when I was fighting the Cancerous Tumor Alliance Army, would I have even needed Batubohe's help?'

'I could have just gone in, guns blazing, and finished them off easily!'

'Goblin Warriors, Lizardman Knights... one shot would have been enough to take them down!'

'Now this is real heavy firepower,' Li Ziyu mused with genuine feeling.

The Skeleton Shooter-1 Type was a success, and he could certainly produce a batch of them. He just needed to figure out how to deploy them on the battlefield. Their advantages were obvious, but their disadvantages were equally so.

The strengths: immense firepower. In groups, they could cure any 'insufficient firepower syndrome.' The weaknesses: slow movement speed, slow attack speed, and a range shorter than even Crossbows or Short Bows. They were also highly dependent on their modified equipment; if those modifications were destroyed, they were done for.

To make the Skeleton Shooter-1 Type effective in combat, he either had to set them up in advance or find a way to deploy them directly onto the field. Expecting them to slowly walk into position before opening fire was pure fantasy.