Munitions Empire

Within a hidden and obscure castle, a circle of tycoons, each with differing physiques, sat around a huge round table. They were some of the most affluent merchants in the world, each owning businesses so vast they made one's scalp tingle.

Moreover, these individuals shared another common identity, that of directors of the Shireck Consortium, essentially shareholders of the consortium.

They were all members of the Shireck board of directors, and it was together they discussed and decided upon the future direction for Shireck.

However, at this very moment, a woman's roar was echoing through the hall, "Who... who gave you the authority to target the Great Tang Group with such a massive operation?"

"Sofia! We didn't inform you of this matter, after all, you are not in charge of this area," a fat man picked up his wine glass, explaining dismissively.

The fiery-haired Sofia slapped the table, cursing in great dissatisfaction, "Idiots! Do you realize how much power you've mobilized? How many years will it take us to cultivate these forces?"

This time, even Shireck could say they had suffered a severe blow, mobilizing almost all of their assets in a fight against the Great Tang Group. For the usually cautious Shireck, this was undoubtedly an unreliable gamble.

"Rest assured, our plan to attack the Great Tang Group is flawless, so your worries are completely unnecessary," another gaunt old man, although displeased with Sofia's shouting, still managed a smile and tried to soothe her.

He was a smiling tiger, always wearing a grin, yet everyone in the room who knew him was aware that this old man, even with a smile, might not necessarily be thinking anything pleasant.

Sofia looked at him, disclosing a piece of intelligence she had, "My worries are completely unnecessary? Are you aware that the Great Tang Group's warships sunk 30 first-rate sail warships in the Poplar Kingdom?"

While the Poplar Kingdom was tight-lipped about such matters, a diligent investigation could still uncover the truth.

The Great Tang Group had deployed only a few warships to sink a considerable number of the Poplar Kingdom's sail warships, a piece of news that had Sofia on high alert.

The fat man immediately laughed, extremely proud of his arrangements, shaking his head as he said, "Of course I know, and that's why this time, we've assembled a fleet of 70 warships from the Taren Kingdom to head north!"

In his view, 70 warships were a formidable force capable of wreaking havoc at sea, with no risk of failure to speak of.

Even the fleet of a maritime powerhouse wouldn't dare to claim they could definitely eliminate an enemy's 70 first-rate sail warships in one fell swoop!

Sofia surveyed those around her and asked coldly, "Have you ever considered... what if this fleet were to be completely annihilated?"

She had a telegraph machine and had arranged for merchants to send her news from Brunas immediately—thus, on her way here, she learned of the Southern Ocean Major Victory reported in Brunas's newspapers.

Though she was reluctant to believe that Brunas's fleet had truly wiped out the Taren Kingdom's fleet, she felt it necessary to be fully prepared for any eventuality.

Several tycoons immediately exclaimed in shock, "Impossible!"

Another director, who had planned this decisive battle against the Great Tang Group, finally spoke confidently, "It doesn't matter, even if they did annihilate Taren's fleet, we've already sealed our victory on the way there."

Sofia, still seething with anger, emphasized, "You mobilized the forces of six kingdoms—Germelin, Taren, Xilun, Phalak, Elm, and Mahogany. You even laid all the underground contacts from Suthers and the Dorne Kingdom out on the table!"

This time, these damned individuals had mobilized too much of Shireck's foundation, to such an extent that no one could afford the cost of failure.

Just thinking about these sacrifices pained Sofia, for they were the very foundations painstakingly built up over decades by the older generation of Shireck directors!

How much had they sacrificed to lay roots in these kingdoms, to build influence and thereby sway the decisions of these kingdoms?

And after this battle, regardless of whether they won or lost, they would lose some of that influence—such was the price of waging war!

The fat director glanced at Sofia and spoke coldly, "As long as we win..."

Sofia, relentless, fixed her beautiful eyes on the fat director and cut him off sternly, "That's after we win! Do you even understand what you've already sacrificed right now?"

The smiling tiger of an elder rebuked Sofia discontentedly, "Sofia! Enough! You are merely one of the members of the board of directors! You are not our boss! Don't go too far!"

"You are gambling with my property! Shouldn't I question it?" Sofia sat back in her seat, adjusted her tone, and began to speak again.

The fat man's expression turned grim, but still suppressing his anger, he boasted, "Recently, our arms trade income has doubled! Shireck has never been as glorious as it is today!"

After all, war had broken out, and as an arms consortium, how could they not profit from it? With six countries purchasing a large amount of munitions, the consortium's income naturally soared.

In addition to the profits from railways and other sectors, during the war, their profits swelled to twice their usual size, which was, of course, to be expected.

"But in two months, you will lose the markets of 11 kingdoms! No, you will even lose the markets of 20 kingdoms!" Sofia clenched her fists, fuming at the thought of these fools gambling away her family fortune.

"These are all your assumptions!" Someone dissatisfied with Sofia's remarks shouted harshly.

"Assumptions? Your stupidity will soon come with a price!" Sofia stood up, dropped a harsh word, and turned around to leave the hall.

"You..." Several people stood up, highly displeased, apparently wanting to reclaim their dignity.

"I don't have time to argue with you here! Goodbye!" Sofia didn't look back as she pushed open the splendid doors and strode out of the hall.

"Hmph! I knew it, we should have kicked her out of the board!" The fat man said coldly, "When we win, we'll strip her of her shares!"

"Women, after all, are short-sighted creatures. Relying on them is useless..." The old man said with a chuckle, pacifying the fat man, but he did not refute the latter's words.

Another envious ugly woman complained, "Other than her looks and the ability to seduce men, what else can she do... Look at her high and mighty attitude, thinking she's so great just because she's a whore?"

In the corridor, Sofia walked while complaining to the maid at her side, "These people are all idiots; staying with them will eventually cost me all my money."

The maid, who was walking beside and slightly behind her, confirmed, "Master, you mean?"

"Prepare another plan!" Sofia paused for a few seconds and then instructed in a low voice, "And be extra vigilant against these fools..."

The maid bowed her head slightly, "Yes!"

...

In the command headquarters of Gemalin Kingdom's forces, which had stabilized their front lines several kilometers back to the east of Leite Kingdom, the Gemalin general paced back and forth with a worried expression.

At his side, a representative from Shireck comforted the general and surrounding officers, "The enemy's forces should have the upper hand; we can only stand firm and wait for reinforcements to arrive."

While speaking, the representative glanced at his trusted aide, the towering Qiumuluo, "Furthermore, if we can hold out for just a few days, the pressure on other fronts will force these troops to retreat. At that time, victory will be within our reach!"

The Gemalin general, who had heard of the formidable reputation of Northern Ridge Iron Army, was still concerned, "But how do we hold out for a few days? I'm worried that the Northern Ridge forces will crush our flanks..."

"Don't worry! The same tactics they used to block us, we will now use to confront them!" The Shireck representative, who had come up with a strategy, proudly declared.

"Hmm?" The Gemalin general was puzzled and then looked towards the Shireck representative.

The representative quickly revealed his tactic, "Before we retreated, I captured nearby farmers to dig the same kind of trenches on the border! They would never expect that we would use their tactics against them!"

"Let your troops rely on this trench for defense until the large artillery arrives at the front. Once they do, we'll have a chance to win!" The Shireck representative believed that once the 130 mm caliber heavy artillery arrived at the front, they would secure the victory.

Without a better idea, the Gemalin general could only nod in agreement, "It is... a strategy."

Seeing the general still a bit anxious, Qiumuluo offered reassuring words, "We have the support of 130 mm cannons, and we've been fighting so many days. They can't possibly concentrate so much artillery in such a short time; we'll surely hold out even longer!"

"I hope that's the case," said the still perturbed Gemalin general, although he looked a bit more relaxed as he spoke with a prolonged intonation.

Before long, after completing their retreat, Gemalin Kingdom's forces relied on the hastily constructed trench defenses to withstand the advancing Leite Kingdom's forces.

Leite Kingdom's forces didn't rush their attack but instead stopped and waited a full day for all reinforcements to arrive before setting up their formation on both flanks and launching several probing assaults.

Then, in the northern sector of the theater, the commander from Northern Ridge, Redman, decided to take the initiative in a general attack, seeking to pierce Gemalin Kingdom's trench defenses!