BTW, now that i think of it, wouldn't Rauchnauts swing break all the bones in Max's arms? His punch alone can generate an amount of kinetic energy greater than that of a Vulcan shot (and that gun shoots some the largest fucking bullets a gun can shoot), and a swing with his longsword would have the speed he can generate with his arms be multiplied, as the sword will act as a type 3 lever that increases speed, resulting in times more power than his punch. So Max is trying to absorb ALL that energy with his arms, the shadows effectively acting as an anvil.