Munitions Empire

In this world, there is a castle with fiery red outer walls, renowned far and wide. Those who live within its stronghold are exalted beyond words, deterring any casual mention of her name.

Indeed, this castle was none other than Flame Castle, and the woman residing within, known as Sofia, was the true ruler of the Shireck Consortium.

The opulent decor lent this apparently ancient edifice an air of modern elegance within.

Expanded windows, though having lost their defensive function as concealment, brought in better lighting and added to the grandeur of the exterior.

Throughout the rooms, expensive electric lights had replaced older fixtures, with some chambers even boasting pricey fluorescent lamps.

In a room filled with priceless sofas and works of art, several telephones unexpectedly adorned the coffee table, right beside lamps engraved with eagles, their bases capable of holding two pens.

Sofia sat on the sofa, tossing a telegram concerning the Ice Cold Kingdom aside with a chuckle—Her stunning face even more bewitching as she sneered, "As soon as the winds change, they all contemplate flight."

Recently, as the war continued to deteriorate, nations across the Eastern Continent actually harbored thoughts of withdrawing from the conflict.

Originally, everyone's intent was to defeat Tang Country and divide its legacy amongst themselves, but the course of the war bore a stark contrast to their expectations.

At the onset, all nations believed that a massive united fleet could easily seize maritime dominance, sever Tang Country's sea lines of communication, and ultimately force Tang Country to capitulate and surrender their advanced technologies.

Frustratingly for them, reality unfolded differently: Tang Army crushed Dahua Empire with ease on the battlefield, securing a land combat advantage.

And at sea, those damned new Tang naval submarines sunk millions of tons of the allied transport ships, forcing the once dominant alliance fleet to cowardly hide in the northern part of the Endless Sea, too frightened to show their faces.

The Laines Empire Navy suffered heavy losses, with many nations' ships unable to return home, turning the entire maritime battle on its head from the pre-war estimations.

When victory seemed assured, it was one thing to invest resources in anticipation of sharing the spoils, but bearing the brunt of a defeat and entwining oneself in a potential loss was quite another matter altogether.

Now, with a naval battle they couldn't win and a land war they were poised to lose substantially, many opportunistic nations began to consider withdrawing from the alliance.

Even some nations did not make any concerted effort to mask their intentions from Shireck, expressing their dissatisfaction with the Shireck Consortium's repeated miscalculations—It's just how people are sometimes; despite their own decisions and multitude of ideas, with Shireck Consortium's persuasion only a secondary factor, when push comes to shove, they still place the blame on Shireck.

Of course, Shireck was not wronged either, they indeed were meddling from the inside and it was they who primarily orchestrated the alliance.

Sofia had known a month ago that ministers from the Ice Cold Empire began advising their Emperor to quickly dispatch envoys to reconcile with Tang Country, in order to withdraw from the alliance and the lengthy but unwinnable war independently.

Half a month earlier, rumblings of opposition to continued warfare surfaced in both the Suthers and Dorne Empires.

More and more nations were contemplating exiting this so-called alliance, considering the feasibility of negotiating peace unilaterally with Tang Country. Such matters had already stirred unease within Shireck, making Sofia sense danger.

Shireck was never a place for wanton behavior; it had many stakeholders and directors representing an even more complex and substantial conglomeration of interests.

On this point Shireck and Great Tang Group were utterly dissimilar, the latter always being a company solely belonging to Tang Mo, thus those involved with Shireck regarded Great Tang Group as a thorn in their side.

This sentiment was aligned with the reluctance of the many empires to see Tang Country grow and prosper: Tang Country, on a national level, was an anomaly; its system, its soul, its operations, and its speed of progress alienated it from other nations.

Likewise, Great Tang Group was wholly different from other corporations and consortia; its mode of expansion and development was utterly irreplicable, with Tang Mo's rise putting the traditional merchants and tycoons on edge.

Tang Mo and everything he represented were changing this world's rules, establishing a new system in the making. Should they fail to keep pace, whether the old empires or kingdoms, or the old corporations and consortia, all would be consigned to history's rubbish heap, decaying into obscurity.

As the era of transformation loomed, some chose to resist with futile efforts, like destroying Tang Country and Great Tang Group—Sofia was one such person.

Others were willing to learn and make concessions in exchange for greater benefits, adapting to ride the currents of history. The Marquis of Bailu, for example.

After the last defeat, voices within the Shireck Consortium were already splintered. Some believed that as businessmen, they should engage in any deal, insisting that as long as Great Tang Group could pave lucrative paths for them, Shireck need not doggedly pursue Great Tang Group's downfall.