Chu-Ko-Nu I

The Chu Ko Nu, a Chinese repeating crossbow whose basic principle dates back to the Warring States period, fed bolts from a magazine above the barrel track, letting a practiced operator loose up to ten shots in roughly fifteen seconds — a rate of fire no contemporary handheld weapon matched. Individual bolts were lighter and less powerful than a longbow's arrow, often poisoned to compensate for the reduced force. Chinese militias kept using the weapon into the 19th century for how quickly it could be trained on. In the game the Chu Ko Nu Gunner fires several bolts per volley — low per-bolt damage but high volume of fire against unarmored groups.