LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 548 Trial of the Rune Weapon
After Lu Chen became the Emperor, his daily life was basically unchanging, except on court meeting days, he would spend the day dealing with official documents in the Imperial Study Room, occasionally having Bai Qingqing help him relax. At night, he fostered relationships with his wives and concubines, and the next day, he would repeat the schedule of the previous day.
After leaving the Linglong Palace, Lu Chen went to the Imperial Study Room to handle state affairs.
Upon entering the Imperial Study Room, Lu Chen opened the system interface to check the reward given by the system last night.
[Explosive Talisman Pattern (Low-grade): Used in the manufacture of rune weapons; when combined with firearms, the power is doubled.]
Seeing the introduction of the Explosive Talisman Pattern, Lu Chen immediately thought of something and swiftly took out the Slayer Spear from the system space.
The body of the Slayer Spear was covered with numerous talisman patterns; the spear's tremendous power was inextricable from these talismans.
Once firearms were engraved with talisman patterns, their power would increase many times over, perhaps even enough to deal with Grandmasters and Celestials?
This...
Lu Chen frowned slightly, not feeling delighted by this reward; he suddenly remembered that the system's rewards often presaged items that would soon be needed.
If the system was rewarding such a formidable item, it meant that a large-scale invasion was imminent, and the world needed to develop rune weapons to prepare.
It seemed Yun Xianxian's prophecy was accurate; the prohibitions of the Misty World would dissipate before long.
They needed to begin preparations in advance.
At that moment, Lu Chen said to Bai Qingqing at the door, "Bai, summon Mo Xing. I have matters to discuss with him."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Lu Chen planned to promptly have someone learn how to inscribe the Explosive Talisman Pattern and then produce new weapons. Only by doing this could they be prepared for the invasion of enemies from the Misty World.
Then, Lu Chen said to the female guard at the doorway, "Have the Jinyiwei Guards prepare some ordinary muskets."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Before long, Mo Xing appeared in the Imperial Study Room, "Your subject pays homage to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!"
Seeing Mo Xing had arrived, Lu Chen got up from his chair and said to Mo Xing, "I am preparing to study new weapons, so I have a task for you."
Hearing this, Mo Xing was momentarily stunned. After he recovered, he once again bowed and said, "Your subject will certainly not fail Your Majesty's expectations!"
As Lu Chen walked towards the door, he said while walking, "Follow me to the Training Ground."
The Imperial Palace had several Training Grounds, and Lu Chen went to one that was more secluded. At this time, the Jinyiwei Guards brought over the muskets they had prepared.
The Jinyiwei Guards knew Lu Chen was going to test the muskets, so they had already prepared targets, both stationary and moving.
Seeing a large box of muskets on the Training Ground, Mo Xing was somewhat puzzled. These were just ordinary muskets; what did they have to do with new weapons?
Lu Chen promptly picked up a musket and started to inscribe the Explosive Talisman Pattern according to the knowledge imparted by the system.
But Lu Chen quickly realized a problem; although he inscribed the Explosive Talisman Pattern based on the knowledge transmitted by the system.
If the Explosive Talisman Pattern were inscribed on the barrel, using it would require the wielder to expend more spiritual power to activate the talisman.
At that moment, Lu Chen had a realization. The Explosive Talisman Pattern was different from the talismans on the Slayer Spear, which itself used spiritual power as its means of attack, thus it needed to gather spiritual power along the spear.
However, since the killing mechanism of an ordinary musket was the bullet, the Explosive Talisman Pattern should be inscribed on the bullet.
Thinking this, Lu Chen raised his hand and directly summoned several bullets from the air, then he began to inscribe the Explosive Talisman Pattern on the bullets.
After engraving the explosive talisman patterns onto the bullets, Lu Chen then loaded the bullets into the firearm and aimed at the targets on the Training Ground.
However, Lu Chen did not immediately pull the firearm's trigger; instead, he said to the Jinyiwei Guard standing nearby, "Add some more protective gear to those targets."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire
The Jinyiwei Guard swiftly sprang into action, bringing over plenty of armor to encase the targets, layering it around a dozen or so times.
Upon witnessing this scene, Mo Xing was stunned; he felt extremely curious. The Emperor had merely touched the firearm and the bullets, drawing a few strange symbols. Could such actions truly enhance the power of a firearm?
As someone who had embraced modern knowledge of physics and chemistry, Mo Xing found it hard to comprehend the principles behind this.
After a while, the Jinyiwei Guards left the vicinity of the targets, which were now wrapped in protective gear like a ball.
One could say that even with the artillery of Great Sum, it would not be certain to harm the actual targets inside.
Lu Chen then raised his rune-weapon firearm and took aim at the target, firing a shot. With Lu Chen depressing the trigger, a bullet shot out from the firearm speedily.
Right after the bullet left the firearm, the talismans on it emitted a blue glow, and immediately, spiritual energy from the surroundings surged into the bullet.
The moment the bullet came into contact with the protective gear, a blaze of light erupted. In just an instant, the bullet pierced through all the protective layers, and also went through the back of the target.
It should be noted that the back of the targets were also equipped with protective gear. The bullet had not only gone through the protective gear on the front but also penetrated the ones on the back—its penetrating power was simply terrifying.
A firearm, once turned into a rune weapon, displayed a power even more formidable than that of a Barrett.
If one were to use a Barrett, perhaps it might manage to damage the target, but certainly not penetrate it all the way through.
At this moment, the bullet continued flying toward the other side, seemingly not much affected by the impact with the target.
Lu Chen, worried that the bullet could penetrate the walls of the Training Ground and injure others inside the Imperial Palace, took immediate action to intercept the bullet.
But, it took a considerable effort for him to stop it.
Talking to himself, Lu Chen said, "The power is indeed not small."
No sooner had Lu Chen spoken than a system notification resonated in his mind.
[Before using a rune weapon, one must pour in spiritual energy. The host's trial shot did not bring out the full power of the rune firearm.]
Hearing this system notification, Lu Chen reacted instantly. He had thought that the talisman, clearly called "explosive," showed no "explosive" effect—turns out he had been using it incorrectly.
With that in mind, it was time for another test.
However, there was no need for those targets this time; direct testing on steel plates would suffice.
Lu Chen then said to the Jinyiwei Guard, "Go to the steel mill and prepare some steel plates five centimeters thick."
Upon hearing this order, the soldiers froze in place.
The Jinyiwei Guard naturally knew how thick five centimeters was—Great Sum had long since adopted a new system of measurement.
These were plates five centimeters thick. With their current weaponry, be it firearms, or even a Grandmaster, it would be difficult to penetrate steel plates of such thickness.
The Jinyiwei Commander standing by Lu Chen's side snapped out of his reverie, promptly responding, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will prepare them immediately."
Suddenly thinking of something, Lu Chen added, "Take those steel plates to the military camp south of the city, I will go to the southern camp for the test shooting."
The Training Ground of the Imperial Palace was somewhat too small, and if the rune weapons released their full might, they could easily harm someone. It would be better to conduct the test shooting outside.