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These workers laboring in the halls could earn 1.5 times the labor points of other jobs in the camp, and also enjoy a rather sumptuous and, more importantly, completely free lunch at noon. As such, only the most diligent and loyal were assigned here by Miriam.

They were often the most trustworthy as well.

This was, after all, the lair of the Blood Vulture Clan, containing many things that could not be known to the outside world. Adhering to the ancient vampire traditions, it had many strange secret chambers, and even Tris and Femis could not explain what lay in many areas.

Such as the underground storeroom being opened now.

Murphy stood not far away, his hands clasped behind his back, a demon sword at his waist, gazing at this place.

His gaze swept the surroundings, still able to see the path leading to the Sacred Blood Hall, but that area had completely collapsed and was beyond repair.

The devastation around the Sacred Blood Hall was catastrophic. Murphy had decided to seal off this entire area as the soon-to-be-opened “instance dungeon” until they had sufficient manpower.

At his side, the loyal Maxim, clad in a heavy and imposing full plate armor with two swords at his waist, stood like Murphy’s shadow.

He did not know what his master was waiting for here.

However, at this moment, Maxim seemed still immersed in the meeting that had just ended, and finally could not help but voice his doubt in a soft voice:

“My lord, what kind of magic did you cast? It made your servants howl like they had been injected with fighting spirit, ready to serve you. They completed the camp’s subsequent migration plan in just half a day.

By the Night Mother, I even saw the usually cunning and lazy Portman personally leading the camp guards to transport supplies to the old city ruins.

He’s like a changed man. Did you twist his personality?

I know vampires can do such things, just as you turned the unruly Adele into your loyal hound.”

“No, he has simply found the meaning of his life. And Adele is not my loyal hound, her soul and personality are independent. I have given her the opportunity to seek freedom. You must be mindful of your words, Max.

Do not create unnecessary misunderstandings with language.

As for Portman’s change, it is easily explained. After over forty years of drudgery, he has finally confronted the ambitions and ideals of his youth, long since ground down by life.”

Murphy said softly:

“Our Portman is a hedonist. One lonely night when he was twenty, after rewarding himself harshly, during the wise hours he vowed to sleep with at least 99 women in his lifetime.

I merely told him his ambition was too pitiful.

I told him that as long as he was willing and his body could withstand it, even 999 would not be a problem.

I showed him the possibility of realizing his desire, needing only six months, do you understand, Max?

Just six months for our domain to survive the Black Disaster, and he could live the lavish life of his dreams. In this sense, Lord Portman is perhaps the easiest of my servants to satisfy.

The real trouble is Old Sister Jules.

Her sincere devotion to faith is admirable, and exploiting her faith also troubles my soul.

I truly did not unleash any evil magic, Max. I merely laid out their desires and let them see their own cravings with their own eyes, nothing more.”

Murphy sighed.

He raised his left hand, looking at his slender, pale fingers, feeling the increasingly active power within him called the 【Power of Desire】.

He keenly sensed the tremendous might of this “original sin.”

It was an extraordinarily powerful force, even more so than what Salrokdar and Tris had truly uncovered.

Luckily or unluckily, Murphy seemed to have found the correct way to wield it.

“Morality can only constrain oneself, but desire can dominate others.”

Murphy silently recited these words in his heart. He curled his fingers into a fist in the darkness, as if grasping some intangible force, under Maxim’s reverent and loyal gaze.

“My lord, my lord, the path down has been opened!”

A few minutes later, a dust-covered foreman ran over to report the good news. Murphy nodded in satisfaction and said kindly to the sweat-drenched foreman:

“Lead the workers to rest over there. Your work has been highly effective. Once you have cleared away the remaining rubble here, you may return to the camp. I will instruct Miriam to arrange leave for you all in the coming days.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

The foreman bowed obsequiously to Murphy. As the vampire lord walked forward, Maxim behind him looked the foreman up and down before speaking:

“My domain also needs such excellent workers. Are you interested in going to Leim Village for the reconstruction work? I can appoint you as village chief and give you a quota of 50 men to choose your own assistants from the camp.”

“Ah, this…”

The foreman was completely caught off guard by this stroke of fortune.

His face beamed with unrestrained delight as he eagerly accepted, then watched the two lords enter the underground storeroom that had just been opened, elated.

The foreman did not know what was in the storeroom, he only felt he had encountered great luck today.

“Well done.”

As they entered the storeroom, Murphy said softly to Maxim at his side:

“You have learned to properly wield power.”

“Only to protect your secrets, my lord. What is hidden here is too important, those who know its location must be closely watched.”

Maxim replied:

“According to the old Blood Vulture traditions, these workers would have been disposed of, but I am well aware that you need manpower now.”

“Yes, the correct thinking. People are the most important resource, the foundation of all great undertakings.”

The vampire lord chuckled softly as the two delved into the dark storeroom.

There were no light sources here, yet it did not impede their vision. Rows upon rows of wooden crates filled the large storeroom as far as the eye could see. Murphy walked up to the nearest crate, hooked his fingers under the lid, and with a light pull, its contents saw daylight once more.

Hundreds of spears were stored within. Murphy picked one up, swinging it a couple of times—well-balanced, sharp head, perfect for new recruits.

These are all standard recruit-level weapons that the little players would not even look at. This place is not meant for them.

Behind him, Maxim opened another crate containing brand-new recruit leather armor and well-maintained shields. After a cursory inspection, he came over and reported to Murphy:

“There are enough weapons here to arm 6,000 Blood Servant warriors, my lord. Deeper in the storeroom, there are 1,500 sets of weak spirit-imbued weapons and armor specifically prepared for new vampire recruits.

Unfortunately, no firearms.

The people of Transia dislike such dangerous things, and vampires scoff at those fire-spitting contraptions. Yet we now live in an age of steel and gunpowder. Even ordinary Goldflower Kingdom soldiers can proficiently use muskets.”

“The issue of firearms can be discussed later,” said Murphy, not particularly disappointed.

He patted the wooden crate in front of him and said to Maxim:

“Lord Palanno promised to help us press for the release of the captured armed Blood Servants from the war by Goldflower Kingdom and the Nordtov Kingdom. But I do not need 16,000 servant soldiers, we cannot afford to maintain such a massive army.

When they return, you will select the most elite three thousand to reorganize the Kadman Civilian Self-Defense Force. Hmm, let’s call it the ‘Kadman People’s Army’ instead, a more fitting name. These weapons and armor can quickly equip them. Then choose another thousand decently upright veterans to serve as full-time militia in the villages we are about to rebuild, under the command and training of Lord Portman.

Dismiss the rest as free civilians, scattering them into Crimson Citadel and the five collective farms we are currently preparing to rebuild. These villages will become future towns or even small cities.

Max, I leave the domain’s military system to you.

Perhaps you need to find some veterans in the camp to serve as your staff officers and learn from them how to manage such a large force. Be mindful to promote capable individuals, for we cannot have merely three thousand soldiers in the future.”

“I will not disappoint you!” Maxim responded solemnly.

Such weighty trust from his lord filled him with determination.

“Seal this place up,” said Murphy, returning the spear to the crate. He then left the storeroom and glanced at another previously excavated storeroom not far away.

That one contained the armory of the hall guards and the patriarch’s personal guards, the most “prosperous” stronghold in the Blood Vulture Halls.

Maxim immediately answered:

“That area has also been inventoried, my lord. Including the guard weapons we recovered from the hall battlefield, we now have around 4,000 weak spirit-imbued weapons and 3,000 sets of weak spirit-imbued armor available for distribution.

There are even more scattered pieces of armor, but we lack sufficient blacksmiths and tailors to make use of those damaged items for now.

As for the high-grade spirit-imbued weapons and armor used by the patriarch’s personal guards, there are 1,000 sets each.

These numbers exclude what you previously awarded to the warriors and represent the accumulation of the Blood Vulture Clan’s arsenal over the past 400 years. I heard from Lady Tris that the Blood Vulture Clan seems to have two hidden armories in the southern and northern parts of Transia, containing another batch of high-grade weapons and armor.

Unfortunately, only the captain of the personal guards knew the locations of these top-secret armories, and they have all perished. But what we have here is enough.

You can easily reconstitute the core elite of the Blood Vulture Clan.

The only problem is the lack of clansmen.”

“That is no problem at all,” Murphy chuckled softly. “I never intended to rebuild the clan in the traditional vampire way. The Blood Vulture Clan has merely kept an ancient name, this is simply the ‘lineage information’ I have prepared for my warriors to travel the continent in the future.

Max, you are a vampire now too, you should understand the inherent flaws of our race.

We are like parasites, leeching off other civilizations and draining the blood of others to nourish ourselves. The midnight darkness in a vampire’s nature causes them to start disruptive things once they congregate.

So in my future plans for Crimson Citadel and Transia, the number of vampires must be strictly controlled! They should be kept to around 1% of the total population, no more.

I am a vampire.

But I do not trust our so-called brethren.”

“A most insightful perspective, my lord. I agree,” Maxim voiced his approval, but then asked doubtfully:

“But ordinary soldiers cannot use spirit-imbued weapons and armor. Even Professionals would struggle to wield the spirit-imbued items the Blood Vulture Clan has accumulated over 400 years. Issuing them solely to your warriors would undoubtedly result in a massive waste of resources.”

“Their pace of acquiring new equipment may exceed your expectations. Moreover, they will not remain just sixty people forever.

You think it is too much, I think it is too little.

Far too little! Utterly inadequate. So once we have some free time, exploring the Blood Vulture Clan’s two top-secret armories must also be on the agenda!”

Murphy shook his head and instructed Maxim:

“Go find Miriam and have her assign personnel to manage these vital resources. Then categorize the spirit-imbued items by their power levels and appoint a quick-witted quartermaster to guard this place.

After my warriors return, I will arrange a new equipment exchange and recovery system for them.”

“Yes, my lord,” Maxim took out his notebook to record these instructions.

A few minutes later, the two left this storeroom area and turned a corner, arriving at the main entrance leading to the collapsed Sacred Blood Pool.

Tris had been busy here for quite a while. The Blood Vulture Grand Duchess was currently casting a spell on a strange black stone standing at the collapsed entrance, assisted by several vampire Spirit Mage guards.

Maxim had never seen anything like this before.

Its shape resembled an irregular pillar, its black surface covered in complex spirit runes, like some kind of beacon device.

As Tris completed her spell, this “Convergence Stone” also began emanating a unique dim glow in the darkness.

“My lady, have our important ‘Blood Vulture secret arts’ been adjusted successfully?” Murphy approached and asked.

Tris glanced at him and nodded, saying, “It has been tested. I must admit I have never seen such an exquisite spirit-imbued item before. Are you certain this is the mysterious knowledge you gained from that failed Astral Realm summoning?”

“Yes, I am certain. I even feel it may originate from an even more mysterious sub-space, perhaps a generous gift from some unknown sub-space shadow,” Murphy said softly, reaching out to touch the Convergence Stone’s surface.

In the next instant, a character card popped up with a note:

【Special spirit-imbued item ‘Convergence Stone’ set up complete. Instance snapshot mechanism ready. Please select an instance segment from the currently archived event snapshot list.

Currently available instance snapshot list:

Small Illusion: Morland Village Ambush Battle, Smuggler’s Woods Harassment Battle, Jedd Gang Raid Battle.

Large Illusion: Advance into the Blood Vulture Halls.

Note!

One Convergence Stone can only hold one instance snapshot segment.

Note!

Test administrators can select special targets within the instance snapshot and assign them ‘special drops’. This mode currently does not support physical forms and can specify the use of ‘special tokens’ for exchange operations.

Note!

Test administrators can freely adjust the internal rules, enemy strength, enemy scale, and cooldown times within the instance snapshot.】

“Cool! Three five-player dungeons and one raid. The equipment acquisition channels for the Black Iron stage are ‘completed’.”

Murphy inwardly marveled.

Being a newbie himself, he placed the snapshot segment of the simplest Morland Village Ambush Battle into the Convergence Stone. Like unsheathing his consciousness, he entered a realm akin to a “spirit illusion”.

The experience was like turning on a game’s “edit mode”, incorporating the entire battle from the initial village entrance ambush to Natalie’s squad’s attack that Murphy recalled.

He could even specify NPCs to say rather embarrassing lines.

Murphy was a bit clumsy at first, but he quickly became Proficient. Compared to the difficulty of running a mere nine lines of code that would report ten errors, this simple scene editing and rearranging was practically nothing.

Thus, according to his understanding of the instance dungeon, he soon made detailed modifications to the memory segment and confirmed the instance snapshot to take effect.

A few minutes later, Murphy withdrew his finger, and spirit illusions began swirling around the Convergence Stone before him. Looking closely at the light encircling the stone, it projected the scenery of Morland Village within.

“Try it out.”

Murphy gestured an invitation to Maxim beside him. Without hesitation, the loyal servant stepped forward, touching the Convergence Stone and infusing it with his spirit energy. His form was enveloped in a mist and reemerged nearly three minutes later.

What the hell!

Finished in three minutes?

Are you speedrunning this instance mode?

Is Maxim just that powerful? Or did Murphy’s instance design suck?

No way!

Gotta up the difficulty!

Murphy thought as Maxim, savoring the recent experience, gave him an odd look and said:

“My lord, isn’t this just our experience in Morland Village? Only with some minor differences in details, and the enemies’ strength seems to have been enhanced somewhat. Also, I don’t recall shouting those strange lines during battle…what’s this about a ‘burning left hand calling for victory’? It’s too embarrassing!”

“Do not dwell on those details!

Your experience just now is the wonder of the Convergence Stone. Knowledge from the Astral Realm grants us the ability to revisit our past battles in the form of illusions, and everything you experience within this illusion can become actual combat experience.”

Murphy explained:

“Look at your Computation Bead.”

Maxim immediately looked down.

A “token” slot had appeared on the Computation Bead’s interface, recording three “Recruit Badges”, corresponding to the three elite Witch Hunters he had faced in the illusion.

Besides Recruit Badges, there were similar “Veteran Badges”, “Elite Badges”, and “Warrior Badges”, likely obtainable by defeating enemies in more challenging battle illusions.

“Use this virtual currency as proof that my warriors have passed the trials. Afterward, they can spend it with the quartermaster to exchange for corresponding weapons and armor. As their strength grows and they need more powerful equipment, they can return these pieces to the quartermaster to receive tokens worth one-third of the original price.

This way, spirit-imbued items from low to high grade can be recycled for reuse.”

Murphy expounded to Maxim and Tris:

“Such a facility will undoubtedly rapidly enhance the warriors’ combat skills. Once our professional soldier system is established, I will also grant them access to this spirit facility. Our new recruits will then experience utterly realistic combat training as well.”

“But if it is truly that perfect, your warriors may become immersed in this illusion and neglect changes in reality. Little Murphy, this is the common flaw of all scenario-type illusions,” the Spirit Sovereign Tris earnestly warned.

“No matter how realistic, an illusion is false. You must make your warriors understand this! Only changes in the real world are worth pursuing, not being consumed by illusory power.”

“They can only enter once per day, and more challenging team battles are limited to once a week,” Murphy explained.

“Furthermore, the weapons and armor exchanged with tokens are mass-produced. I only wish to grant them the most basic ‘safety net’ of gains for each stage. If they want stronger, rarer, and more beautiful weapons, they must rely on their own explorations and trials in the real world to obtain them.

I am well aware of the importance of this.

So do not worry, Tris.

However, each Convergence Stone can only hold one battle memory segment, so I need at least three more. Tris, I will require your assistance next.”

“I feel like I, the Blood Vulture Grand Duchess, have degraded into your servant now,” Tris said wryly.

“Isn’t this not how normal family relations should be? Count of Kadman, you order your clan leader to work for you without even a word of thanks?”

“That makes us seem so distant,” Murphy smiled, taking Tris’s wrist and softly placating her as she pouted and made demands like one Convergence Stone for twenty crates of fine wine.

The loyal Maxim tactfully withdrew from the area at this point.

The private lives of the nobles should not be pried upon, this was the basic conduct of the faithful.

Moreover, in Maxim’s heart, a ravishing beauty like Lady Tris could only be possessed by a heroic figure like Lord Murphy!

Though their age gap spanned over 400 years, that was of no consequence!

Who were these unseeing fiends to comment on the perfect match of such a talented man and beautiful woman?