I suppose I should give some in-depth descriptions about some of the armaments in the story.

+ Royal Armory +

Fusils

Like how these are called, these are muskets. Fusils are smoothbore and muzzle-loaded long guns. Their calibers are big, like the age-old muskets of Europe and Sengoku Japan. These also use a flintlock mechanism. Fusils in this story are ignited by small pyrocite crystals—that are heated by another pyrocite—hitting powdered pyrocite which becomes explosive, far potent than black powder or gunpowder. The powdered pyrocite is hidden behind a breech that can be refilled at any time.

Repeaters

Imagine turning your typical .44 Magnum into a long gun. This is how you get your repeaters. Like fusils, their calibers are large and their bullets are heavy. Except, unlike having cartridges like the .38, .44, .45, .500 or whichever modern day revolver, repeaters have their bullets loaded right in front of a pyrocite chamber. The ignition is embedded inside the gun, where its drum cycling mechanism is also placed.

Hand cannons

Sawn-off fusils, in essence, but are double the size and are break-action pistols. Imagine having a sawn-off single-shot shotgun that shoots extra-large slugs, instead of buckshot. Try shooting a .500 Magnum—twice/double tap—once to know how it feels.

Crossbows

These aren’t like the Zhuge repeating crossbow, but are just pulley operated mechanical crossbows—similar to what you may find in hobby or hunting stores.

Explosive bolts

Since powdered pyrocite becomes explosive, the head of the bolt has three parts. The first part is a small chamber filled with powdered pyrocite. The second part is a small pyrocite crystal that heats up once the third part—another similarly sized pyrocite crystal—hits a target. There are two types of explosive bolts, one that explodes on impact, and one that has a slow burn. For the slow-burn type of bolt, replace the second part with a larger pyrocite crystal.

Pneumatic fusil

It is just an airsoft musket—a high caliber BB gun. Lakeng’s pneumatic fusil needed reserves of air canisters, while Malachi’s version replaced that need with a pump.

Siege engines

Take a look at a Panzer VIII Maus super heavy tank. Now, turn the turret into an immobile structure unable to rotate itself, then replace the gun with a 200mm cannon and enlarge the body by 50 percent. That’s how you can get a siege engine. It is simple and robust, but it is also slow and heavy. It requires a crew of four, a driver and a gunner, and two steam knights to load the cannon ball.

Steam knights

These are 2-meter tall steel machines. Rather than piloted robots, steam knights are more of exo-suits that enhance the wearer’s capabilities allowing them to carry heavy objects, and to absorb and dish out aa lot of damage. Steam knights have pyrocite engines on their back, which is also a weak spot, and produce as much exhaust heat as siege engines.

Blast hammer

It is a sledgehammer with a high-explosive warhead. The explosive head is actually multiple layers of clustered pyrocite crystals and powder, separated by thin metal sheets, allowing multiple uses before it needs to be replaced.

Pyrocite grenades

These are tightly packed cans of powdered pyrocite with a fuse. Actually resembles a pipe bomb.

+ Malachi’s weapons +

Assault rifle

Everybody should be familiar with the modern day assault rifles, right? Rather than modeled after the traditional American M4, M16, Soviet AK47, or German HK416, Malachi has a fascination for bullpups and compact weapons. His assault rifles resemble the French Steyr AUG or the Austrian FAMAS. In particular, his assault rifle draws inspiration from the Belgian FN F2000 because of its forward ejection port. However, while it does reference the FN F2000, it doesn’t have a telescopic sight, has a Picatinny rail and iron sights, instead, and has the fire select controls above where one would place the thumb.

Shotgun

Although it has been said in the story that the shotgun Malachi designed is similar to the Winchester pump-action shotgun, Malachi’s fascination for bullpups references the American Kel-Tec KSG. However, instead of having dual internal shell tubes—that accommodates two different types of shells—Malachi’s shotgun only has one shell tube. It also lacks a Picatinny rail.

Light machinegun

For the LMG, Malachi took an assault rifle and increased its size. The LMG looks like an FN F2000 with a longer barrel and a bipod, and its body is a quarter size bigger and has a vertical grip. Its magazine well was removed, and was replaced by a belt-fed mechanism.

SA and BA sniper rifles

This is where Malachi did not create a bullpup. Keeping in mind that most snipers won’t be in the middle of the frontlines and will be at the back providing long-range support, he retained the traditional design. For these particular models, Malachi did not draw any inspirations from specific modern Earth sniper rifles and created each one from scratch. The sniper rifles’ bodies were made from wood, making them heavier to carry, and the rest of the parts were made from steel. The scope’s crosshair was made of thin threads placed inside it.

Handgun

Rather than keeping the cumbersome hand cannon, Malachi created a tactical pistol. For this one, he made a 9mm pistol with a 15-round capacity. Good stopping power with its caliber and increased ammunition capacity ensures effective self-defense for any situation.

Ammunition

These are definitely not NATO rounds or any other modern Earth standards. Considering that pyrocite powder is much more potent than gunpowder, Malachi has to compensate for the powder weight and cartridge size to avoid having guns blowing up in his face—like how his prototype shotgun exploded.

Tank destroyer

Hull

Thickness

Relative thickness

Front armor

70 mm

98 mm~108 mm

Side armor

70 mm

98 mm~108 mm

Rear armor

70 mm

98 mm~108 mm

Roof armor

20 mm

—

Gun

100m

200m

300m

500m

750m

1000m

Penetration

210mm

206mm

201mm

184mm

157mm

124mm

Max speed

38 km/h

Traverse

32 deg/s

Combat radius

400 km

Weight

34 metric tons