User blog comment:Zathronas/Analysis by an author: Volume 2 episode 11: No brakes/@comment-78.42.186.25-20141024022917/@comment-10380701-20141024035114

Law of Conservation of Ninjutsu was definitely at work here or something.

As there's a cache of Paladins, their combined strength is lesser than usual.

In story, we can explain it as non-soldiers operating it, not exactly trained to use its full potential. Sure, you can learn how to use it, but that's different from having mastery in operating it.