One paddles a canoe, one does not row a canoe. Rowing like what Olympic hopeful Luan does requires an entirely different watercraft.

it’s probably mostly because pirate isn’t a doctor so obviously can’t be expected to get the medical stuff correct but Geneva constantly stating wrong diagnoses with certainty pushes this narrative

All the same, here I am 6 volumes in, and still gripped so Pirate still has my trust.

Crossbows, especially very strong ones, do have recoil: it’s just not nearly as much of a kick as we think of when compared to a gun. Much of the energy is absorbed and dissipated due to the way the string and spring arms work, but not entirely so. The recoil is also not really a major factor in their usage, because they are single shot weapons.

The same is true for regular bows. They are much easier to keep in place, but if you’ve ever fired a strong bow, there definitely is a reaction force present.

Also, considering the crude nature of how the crossbows are designed in this part of the story, the spring arms probably don’t work nearly as efficiency as a modern crossbow, or even just one made of metal. Less efficiency would mean less force counteracted by the springs.

+1 for use of condottiero! Old school PMCs.

Yes. It’s horrible, but I loved it!