Munitions Empire

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Crackling, the newspaper in her hand was crumpled into countless wrinkles as the lady at breakfast, face cold as frost, threw the wrinkled paper onto the dining table in a fit of rage.

"That bastard, he actually has two children all of a sudden! Damn it, why doesn’t he die, why doesn’t he die?" Her meticulously applied makeup couldn’t hide the viciousness on her face as she cursed loudly, her angry voice echoing throughout the room.

The spacious, enormous dining room housed only a massive table that was frightening in size, and everything here was sumptuously luxurious, with gold-cast candlesticks everywhere.

Regrettably, these candlesticks were all covered in dust because above them, the great chandelier illuminated everything with electric light.

In the war between Tang Country, Qi Country, and the illusory country of Gold Coin, Shireck’s northern fleet commander was actually this beautiful vixen’s confidante.

Back then, she saw an opportunity for profit and thus orchestrated Shireck’s fleet’s surprise attack on Dragon Island. Unfortunately for her, neither the airship troops nor the warship troops succeeded.

Sometimes that’s just how things are; if you win and succeed, what follows is a shower of flowers and applause. But if you fail, everything changes.

The other Shireck directors who had been silent about her actions criticized her openly after the failure, including Chairman Sofia, who had previously secretly indicated her support; they all changed their stance.

Nearly everyone blamed her, resenting her for the loss of a large number of airships and for the utter defeat of Shireck and Gobur’s modernized fleet.

Not to mention the lost money and lives, she also turned Shireck into a completely passive and disadvantaged position in subsequent negotiations with Great Tang, which became an excuse for many directors to denounce her.

As a result, she had to compensate with a lot of money and even had to sell off a portion of her Shireck shares to quell some of the anger.

However, it was clear that things did not end there. She heard that the red-haired wench Sofia had betrayed her, trading her as a bargaining chip to that King of Tang Country.

The fate of those who offended Tang Mo was fresh in the memory of many Shireck directors: that smiling tiger, who once wielded great influence within Shireck and even dominated over Sofia, died mysteriously at home and had his wealth divided up after his death.

With this precedent in mind, many Shireck upper-class members are now extremely cautious about their diet, fearful of being poisoned and haunted by paranoia, leading to a life that’s neither fully human nor ghostlike.

This beautiful vixen before us belongs to this group of people; every day her food must be specially checked by individuals who must also be absolutely loyal confidants.

Even the men who accompany her to bed each night are subject to repeated checks. This way of life was driving her mad, and every day of poor eating and sleepless nights tormented her, leaving her increasingly deranged.

The maids cleared away the leftover food, leaving only the middle-aged woman cursing continuously in the dining room. She once had a brilliant half a lifetime, basking in success up until seven years ago when her wealth was enough to rival nations, and her power immense.

Unfortunately, with the rise of the Great Tang Group, her days worsened by the day. Her wealth rapidly depleted, and her good days came to an abrupt end.

"Madam, your car is ready," the butler came over, bowed respectfully, and reported to the still-attractive, yet aging, baroness.

The woman huffed and stood up, complaining as she walked, "What could be so important it can’t be discussed over the phone..."

In her residence, the best phones produced by the Great Tang Group had been installed, providing clear voice quality and great convenience. These devices, widely used on warships, were also commonplace in Brunas for civilian use.

However, for regions south of Gobur and controlled by Shireck, such devices were still prohibitively expensive, and only the true elite could afford to have a phone installed to show off their status.

The lover inviting her happened to be one of her trusted agents, managing her new textile and machine tool factories, a very capable subordinate, which is why she gave him face by personally visiting his mansion to discuss future production issues.

Because of their strained relationship with the Great Tang Group, the machinery and equipment produced by some of Shireck’s factories were bestsellers, also netting Shireck a considerable profit.

Escorted by a few guards, the carefully dressed yet vexed baroness got into her Rolls-Royce and, with two other cars for escort, drove out of her estate.

The city streets were fairly smooth, and the Rolls-Royce, with its shock-absorbing features finely tuned by the Great Tang Group, lulled the baroness with its comfort, almost sending her to sleep.

She sat in her car, half-asleep, watching the unbusy streets since it was working hours and not many were at leisure like herself.

However, it was at that moment that gunfire suddenly rang out on the streets. Accompanied by a crisp gunshot, the car driving ahead to clear the way suddenly skidded to one side.

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It didn’t slow down and crashed into the wall of a building by the roadside, deforming the front engine cover. In an instant, the car started emitting a plume of blue smoke and, almost blocking the middle of the road with its rear, hindered the path of the Marquise’s car.

"Bang!" Another gunshot rang out, and the rear windshield of the following car instantly shattered, followed by the car coming to a halt, its driver slumped over the steering wheel, blood splattered all over the dashboard.

The Marquise’s Rolls Royce didn’t accelerate to ram the accident-stricken lead car but instead came to a sharp stop. The driver of her car pushed open the door and started running, only to be shot dead by the guard in the passenger seat.

However, a crisp gunshot sounded from afar once more, and the trusted guard in the passenger seat collapsed in response, a bleeding hole opened up in his forehead.

"There’s an assassin!" In the car behind, the remaining three guards scrambled out, looking around for the shooter.

"The driver’s compromised!" Taking cover inside the car with the Marquise behind him, the head of her guard detail drew his pistol and said.

He glanced at the car that had hit the wall in front, hoping that some of the other guards inside would survive and get out to help them fight.

The Marquise was beside herself with rage but didn’t speak out. She’d guessed that the lover who had invited her out had betrayed her, as had the driver by her side!

It was unlikely that these people were spies planted by Tang Country. More probably, they were "insiders" from within Shireck. Sadly, these so-called insiders seemed to act even more cruelly and viciously than enemies.

She couldn’t blame anyone but herself, as she was also that kind of person and would make the same choices if she had the chance and the power.

"Protect me back home, I’ll give you a hundred thousand Gold Coins!" The Marquise gritted her teeth and offered a sky-high price, not wanting to die. The best option right now was to make her guards fight desperately.

Unfortunately, she still underestimated the determination of the assassins who came to kill her. At the same moment she mentioned the price of a hundred thousand Gold Coins, the crisp sound of a Thompson Submachine Gun suddenly erupted.

The chatter of the gunfire was surprisingly melodious, but to the Marquise’s ears, it was no different from the knocking of an evil spirit at the door.

The guards using the cars for cover, who were searching for the gunman, were unexpectedly turned into sieves by bullets raining down like drops of water.

Who could have imagined that in a city with good public order and local troops of their own, there would appear a band of fierce bandits armed with sniper rifles and submachine guns?

The two who managed to crawl out of the car that crashed into the wall also had their flesh torn apart by the incoming submachine gun bullets.

The bullets left countless holes in the bodies of these guards, blood splattered everywhere, and the scene was so sudden that it almost seemed beautiful.

"Get out!" Knowing they couldn’t hide anymore, the lover-guard pushed the Marquise out of the car. Just as the door opened and the Marquise screamed as she fell out, the submachine gun opened fire, killing the lover-guard shielding her in the seat.

The bullets left numerous holes in the seat, the stuffing inside scattering all over, and the guard holding the pistol was shaking violently as if electrocuted.

"Don’t kill me! I have money! Don’t kill me!" The Marquise saw people encroaching from both flanks, screaming and holding her head. This was her final bargaining chip, her last hope.

Two men armed with Thomspon Submachine Guns with drum magazines enveloped her, one in front and one behind, their boots not more than three meters from her.

The gunfire did not cease. The two hitmen raised their submachine guns and delivered a chilling, desperate message, "His Majesty, the Tang King sends his regards!"

The Marquise looked up in terror, only to be met with a hail of bullets. A bullet pierced her forehead, and her back was shredded by the bullets that followed.

She fell into a pool of blood, screaming; her blood-drenched, magnificent dress painting a horrific picture. The three cars were riddled with bullet holes, and every corpse on the ground was riddled with holes as well.

Two cars came charging out from the side, stopping behind the submachine-gun-wielding assassins. They swiftly discarded their weapons next to the bodies, then quickly got into the vehicles and disappeared at the other end of the street.

After a long while, civilians began to poke their heads out of the surrounding buildings, curiously observing the corpses on the road and the cars that had been shot to pieces.

It took a while longer before the City Defense Forces finally rushed over. They casually cleaned up the mess and cordoned off the surrounding blocks but were reluctant to close the city gates to search.

Several well-dressed men arrived hurriedly, wailing on the outskirts, feigning inconsolable grief.