In the Ninth District of Downtown, a group of ragged civilians are fiercely exchanging fire with the City Guard.
Their guns, though crude, cannot compare to the Empire's newest military firearms, but the City Guard, not part of the Empire's formal military sequence, does not possess weapons much more advanced than those held by the civilians.
The Empire's finest weapons are the recoilless cannons and heavy machine guns that fire copper-cased fixed ammunition, held by the Steam Knights, followed by the rifled guns firing paper-cased fixed ammunition held by the Guard Army.
These weapons were previously improved and designed by Perfikot, submitted to the Military Department, and produced by military enterprises.
After three years, these weapons have now been widely distributed to the troops, outfitting the vast majority of the Guard Army.
