Wang Hao Plunders After the Battle, Turning the Crimson Moon Tome into a Waste-Recycled Asset

Wei Zhongxian stood behind Wang Hao.

Thirty of the Great Zhou Dynasty's top technical talents were lined up on both sides.

There were Formation Masters from the Ministry of Works.

Artifact Refiners from the Directorate of Armaments.

Rune Masters from the Eastern Depot.

And a few old scholars Wang Hao had forcefully borrowed from various sects.

These people had originally been taking inventory of the Crimson Moon Demon Sect's formation cores, the blood pool ruins, and the remnants of bizarre artifacts. Upon hearing that His Majesty had summoned them, they immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed over.

The moment they entered the tent and laid eyes on the Crimson Moon Demon Grimoire, their faces completely changed.

A white-bearded grandmaster of formations gasped.

Your Majesty, this item bears an extremely heavy resentment. It must not be moved lightly!

An old artisan from the Directorate of Armaments stared at the thirteen eyeballs on the cover, his scalp going numb.

This is a living evil grimoire. I am afraid a million departed souls are sealed within it.

The Rune Master from the Eastern Depot was even more direct.

Imperial Lord, how about allowing this old slave and the others to burn it with lightning fire for three days first?

Wang Hao waved his hand.

It would be a pity to burn it.

Everyone was stunned.

A pity?

If this kind of thing was not burned, were they going to keep it to celebrate the New Year?

Wang Hao pointed at the Crimson Moon Demon Grimoire.

Open it.

Wei Zhongxian's eyelids twitched slightly.

However, he still stepped forward and used a specially made jade ruler to flick open the first page.

Buzz!

As soon as the page was opened, blood-red light surged.

Densely packed blood-colored runes began to crawl madly across the human skin parchment like a swarm of awakened venomous insects.

The temperature inside the grand tent plummeted.

Countless wails rang out.

Several young Rune Masters turned pale and almost fell to their knees on the spot.

The Thunder Abyss Demon Suppression Pagoda vibrated gently.

Boom!

A streak of lightning struck down.

The Crimson Moon Demon Grimoire let out an ear-piercing shriek, and the blood-red light instantly shrank back by more than half.

The thirteen eyeballs all closed simultaneously.

Wang Hao said flatly, Behave.

The Crimson Moon Demon Grimoire stopped moving.

The technical talents watched with wildly twitching eyelids.

They suddenly realized that this evil grimoire was not devoid of a temper.

It just bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Wang Hao tapped the table.

I did not summon you all here to admire a Demon Sect art piece.

And even less so to have you learn evil blood sacrifice arts.

I want you to research it.

The grand tent fell silent for a moment.

The white-bearded formation grandmaster hesitated, Your Majesty, researching an evil grimoire, I fear that goes against...

Wang Hao glanced at him.

Goes against what?

The white-bearded grandmaster braced himself and said, It goes against the righteous path.

Wang Hao laughed.

The righteous path is to burn it, and then pretend these million departed souls never existed?

Or is it to seal it away, wait a few hundred years for some unlucky fool to dig it up, and let it harm people all over again?

The white-bearded grandmaster was left speechless.

Wang Hao turned to the second page.

Is this thing evil?

It is evil.

Should it be destroyed?

It should.

But before destroying it, we are going to squeeze out everything useful first.

He pointed at the blood-colored runes on the page.

These runes are the crystallization of evil arts that the Crimson Moon Demon Sect built using a million human lives.

Cruel, vicious, and utterly devoid of humanity.

But from a structural standpoint, they are exceedingly exquisite.

The amplification pathways of the runes, the methods of channeling vitality and blood, the logic behind stacking power—they have all reached an incredibly high standard.

A Rune Master from the Eastern Depot's eyes lit up slightly.

Mustering his courage, he leaned in for a closer look.

Soon, his breathing grew heavy.

Your Majesty, the triple-return flow structure here... is indeed wondrous.

Another Artifact Refiner from the Directorate of Armaments could not help but step forward.

This rune divides the impact of vitality and blood into nine stages of slow release. No wonder it can allow the blood sacrifice energy to skyrocket in a short time without causing the furnace to explode.

A Formation Master from the Ministry of Works frowned.

More than that, it uses a method similar to the transference of a formation core to disperse the backlash onto the sacrifices.

After speaking, his expression suddenly stiffened.

Because he realized what he had just said.

Dispersing the backlash onto the sacrifices.

This was the most disgusting part of the Demon Sect's evil arts.

It was not that the technique was lacking.

It was that the technique was built upon the screams of countless living people.

Wang Hao nodded.

You have seen it.

The Demon Sect's strength does not come from them being smarter than you.

It comes from them having no bottom line.

When they encounter rune backlash, they fill the gap with human lives.

When they encounter a lack of energy, they fill it with human lives.

When a formation is unstable, they still fill it with human lives.

I will not allow the Great Zhou to do this.

Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Thank goodness.

His Majesty did not want to learn blood sacrifice.

In the next instant, they heard Wang Hao say, But I do allow you to figure out a way to use spirit stones, formation bases, vitality crystal cores, and bizarre remnants to replace human lives.

The crowd froze.

Wang Hao raised his hand, and a screen of light appeared.

It was exactly the blueprint for the Basic Spiritual Energy Amplification Matrix he had just obtained from signing in.

Of course, in the eyes of everyone present, this was merely a mysterious blueprint His Majesty had casually taken out.

The blueprint unfolded.

Golden lines crisscrossed in the air.

The eyes of the formation grandmasters instantly went wide.

This is...

An energy amplification matrix?

No, it is ten times more complex than a standard spirit gathering formation!

The stable structure here is simply beautiful!

If we change the blood runes of the Crimson Moon Demon Grimoire into spiritual energy channels, and then use this matrix to stabilize the output, it might actually be able to replace the vitality and blood of the sacrifices!

An Artifact Refiner from the Directorate of Armaments was so excited his beard curled up.

What if we carve it onto weapons?

Ordinary soldiers could activate it with spirit stones, allowing them to unleash attacks exceeding their own cultivation realm for a short time.

The Rune Master from the Eastern Depot chimed in.

If we add purification runes, we can avoid bizarre energy pollution.

A Formation Master from the Ministry of Works slammed the table and stood up.

And if we coordinate it with military formations for unified energy supply!

A hundred-man squad, as long as they carry enough spirit stones, could take turns unleashing Acupoint Opening Realm attacks!

The atmosphere in the grand tent instantly changed.

At first, everyone looked at the Crimson Moon Demon Grimoire like it was a pile of blood-soaked garbage.

Now, they looked at the Crimson Moon Demon Grimoire like it was a gold mine covered in feces.

Disgusting.

But valuable.

Wang Hao nodded in satisfaction.

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

I am giving you three months.

Within three months, I want to see the first batch of purified rune weapon prototypes.

My demands are not high.

First, ordinary Organ Forging Realm soldiers must be able to use them.

Second, the attack power must reach at least the Acupoint Opening Realm.

Third, the backlash cannot exceed an acceptable range.

Fourth, the production cost cannot be too high.

Everyone had been listening with boiling enthusiasm.

But upon hearing the fourth point, their smiles gradually stiffened.

The white-bearded formation grandmaster said cautiously, Your Majesty, the first three points are already very difficult. If we also have to control the cost...

Wang Hao looked at him.

What, do you think fighting a war does not cost money?

The white-bearded grandmaster was struck dumb.

Wang Hao said flatly, What I want are not toys for heaven-chosen geniuses to play with.

What I want are weapons that the army can mass-produce.

Military equipment that cannot be mass-produced, no matter how strong, is just a decoration.

The old artisan from the Directorate of Armaments took a deep breath.

Your Majesty, if we want to mass-produce them, the materials must be changed.

The runes of the Crimson Moon Demon Grimoire require high-level demonic beast skin to bear them. If we switch to profound iron or spirit copper, the channeling efficiency will drop.

Wang Hao asked, Drop by how much?

At least thirty percent.

Acceptable.

But the power will be unstable.

Add a pressure-stabilizing formation.

A pressure-stabilizing formation requires spirit stones.

Use low-grade spirit stones.

Low-grade spirit stones have many impurities.

Does the Directorate of Armaments not know how to purify them?

The old artisan opened his mouth, suddenly realizing that His Majesty knew better than them how to pinch pennies on costs.

The Rune Master from the Eastern Depot could not help but say, Imperial Lord, if we use bizarre remnants as auxiliary materials, the power will be stronger, but the risk of pollution will also be higher.

Wang Hao pointed at the Thunder Abyss Demon Suppression Pagoda at the top of the tent.

"Wash it with lightning."

The New Emperor Sword poked his head in from outside the tent.

"Using my leftovers works too!"

Everyone turned to look at him in unison.

Wang Hao remained expressionless.

"How did you get in?"

The New Emperor Sword looked innocent.

"I didn't come in; just my head came in."

Wei Zhongxian smiled faintly. "Lord Sword, for approaching the military command tent without permission, ten pounds of your daily eerie residue ration will be deducted."

The New Emperor Sword turned pale with fright.

"I'm leaving right now!"

With a swish, he retracted his head.

Silence fell over the tent for a moment.

Then, someone asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, who was that..."

Wang Hao said flatly, "A not-so-smart sword."

Everyone: "..."

The explanation was concise, but it carried a massive amount of information.

Wang Hao tapped the Crimson Moon Magic Tome.

"I don't care what methods you use."

"Dismantle the runes."

"Alter the structures."

"Change the materials."

"Lower the costs."

"But remember one thing."

"Any proposal involving live human sacrifices, soul extraction, or flesh and blood contamination is strictly prohibited."

"If anyone dares to try it secretly, I won't kill them."

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief...

Wang Hao added, "I will send them to be the New Emperor Sword's feeder."

Everyone's faces turned pale.

Although they didn't know exactly what a feeder did, it didn't sound like a good job.

Wei Zhongxian chimed in at the right moment. "Lord Sword's diet has been quite mixed lately, and his temper has been rather volatile. The casualty rate for his feeders has not yet been calculated."

Everyone immediately said in unison, "We will strictly obey Your Majesty's decree!"

Outside the tent.

Xiao Chen leaned on his crutches, sneaking closer.

He originally just wanted to see what kind of underhanded operations Wang Hao was going to pull off next.

But as soon as he reached the edge of the tent, he heard words like "ordinary soldiers unleashing Aperture Opening Realm attack power," "purified rune weapons," and "mass production."

Xiao Chen's eyes instantly lit up.

He was so excited he almost shed tears.

"Ye Guyun, did you hear that?"

"The tyrant finally has a conscience!"

Ye Guyun stood beside him, expressionless.

"Are you sure?"

Xiao Chen lowered his voice and said excitedly, "With the combat power of ordinary soldiers improved, they won't need us prodigies to act as cannon fodder anymore!"

Ye Guyun fell silent for a moment.

"He doesn't want prodigies to be cannon fodder."

Xiao Chen nodded.

"Exactly!"

Ye Guyun continued, "Because the cost of cultivating prodigies is too high."

Xiao Chen's smile stiffened.

Ye Guyun said, "In the future, ordinary soldiers will charge the first wave with rune weapons, while we prodigies will be upgraded from high-level cannon fodder to elite special forces."

An ominous premonition rose in Xiao Chen's heart.

"What do you mean by elite special forces?"

Ye Guyun said flatly, "Executing missions that are more dangerous, more critical, and more easily targeted by the enemy."

Xiao Chen: "..."

His sense of being moved shattered.

Shattered completely.

Wanyan Gu also leaned over and seriously summarized.

"That is to say, we were previously used to block the muzzles of guns."

"In the future, we will be used to stab the enemy's heart."

Qin Hongye nodded.

"Pretty much."

Wanyan Gu thought for a moment.

"It sounds like our status has improved."

Xiao Chen said angrily, "The point is that the danger has also increased!"

Wanyan Gu said self-righteously, "But the performance bonuses should also increase."

Xiao Chen was taken aback.

It seemed... to make a little sense?

No, wait.

Why was he starting to measure life and death by performance bonuses?

To what extent had this tyrant Wang Hao corrupted them?

Inside the main tent.

Wang Hao seemed to have known all along that someone was eavesdropping outside.

He ignored it.

Because Xiao Chen and the others' understanding was basically correct.

This was Wang Hao's brand of mercy.

Giving ordinary soldiers stronger firepower to reduce meaningless casualties.

Removing prodigies from the simple role of cannon fodder to take on more critical missions.

It sounded very humane.

In reality, every ounce of humanity had gone through a cost-benefit analysis.

How many pills, cultivation methods, master teachings, and resources did it take to cultivate a True Intent Realm prodigy to maturity?

Enough to support a regiment of a thousand men.

Using such people to fill the front lines was too much of a loss.

It would be better to have them perform decapitation strikes, break formations, scout, and raid the enemy's core.

They might still die.

But their deaths had to be worth the money.

Wang Hao always believed that waste was the greatest taboo in war.

Wasting rations was a sin.

Wasting troops was a sin.

Wasting prodigies was an even more heinous crime.

Of course, this couldn't be said directly.

Saying it out loud would easily damage morale.

So Wang Hao phrased it differently.

He told the people in the tent, "In the future wars of the Great Zhou, we will not merely rely on a few patriarchs to hold the fort, nor will we only rely on prodigies to risk their lives."

"What I want is an army that can truly suppress the weirdness, steamroll the demonic path, and rewrite the rules of the battlefield."

"Martial arts experts determine the upper limit."

"The military-industrial system determines the lower limit."

"The higher the lower limit, the more stable the empire."

Everyone's expressions turned solemn.

These words struck their hearts like thunder.

In the past, what did the various nations of the Eastern Wasteland rely on when fighting wars?

They relied on patriarchs.

They relied on sects.

They relied on prodigies.

No matter how many ordinary soldiers there were, they were just background characters, mere consumables.

But what Wang Hao wanted to do now was to give ordinary soldiers the right to tear apart high-level enemies.

This was not simply forging weapons.

This was rewriting war itself.

A white-bearded formation master bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, I understand."

Flames ignited in the eyes of an old craftsman from the Directorate of Armaments.

"Give me three months, no, one month, and I will produce the first prototype!"

A runemaster from the Eastern Depot gritted his teeth and said, "We will analyze the Crimson Moon Magic Tome day and night; we will never let these evil arts harm people again."

Wang Hao nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good."

"Companion Wei."

Wei Zhongxian stepped forward.

"This old servant is here."

"Establish the Demon-Purging Military-Industrial Department."

"It will be jointly supervised by the Ministry of Works, the Directorate of Armaments, and the Eastern Depot."

"All researchers must sign a confidentiality contract."

"Daily work results must be reported."

"Materials will be allocated with priority."

"Whoever renders meritorious service will be rewarded."

"Whoever slacks off will be punished."

The hearts of the technical personnel skipped a beat.

They liked clear rewards and punishments.

But as soon as the term slack off came out, they knew the Great Zhou's signature management style was here.

Sure enough, Wang Hao continued, "If there is no prototype within three months, everyone's performance rating will be downgraded by one level."

Everyone's faces turned pale.

"If a prototype is produced within three months, participants will be rewarded with contribution points and granted technical noble titles."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

"If it can be mass-produced, the leaders will enter the Great Zhou's Pavilion of Meritorious Officials, and their descendants for three generations will be exempt from corvee labor."

Everyone's breathing grew heavy.

"If there are any live human experiments..."

Wang Hao's voice turned cold.

"Execution."

As that single word fell.

The temperature inside the tent plummeted.

No one suspected he was joking.

Because the Bloodfiend Patriarch's skull was still warm.