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"Tap, tap, tap..." The hurried footsteps echoed through the beautifully decorated corridor, as the stern-faced maid, holding a stack of telegrams, rushed through the hall and pushed open the door at the end.
She walked to the bedside and spoke to the woman who was hugged left and right on the bed, with flaming red hair, "Ma'am, the news has just been confirmed... Dorne has defeated the Kingdoms of Xilun and Taren."
The woman lazily withdrew her lotus arm from underneath her naked companion, scratched her fluffy red hair, and asked in a drawn-out voice, "So, does that mean the news from a few days ago is all true?"
Indeed, there had been news that the Dorne Kingdom had achieved a comprehensive victory and had defeated both Xilun and Taren.
But this news had not been confirmed, and it seemed too fantastic to be true, so Sofia could only choose to wait for the real, confirmed news to arrive.
Now, the news had arrived.
The maid nodded slightly and continued, "Yes, ma'am! It has been confirmed, the fleet of the Taren Kingdom has indeed been annihilated."
Because the decisive naval battle took place at sea, and the war had interrupted the message transmission channels from Hotwind Port, the news had only now been verified and delivered to Sofia.
There was no helping the delays in the intelligence system, which had always been like this; people of this era had grown accustomed to such speeds of news dissemination.
On the other hand, telegrams from Brunas were faster and more convenient—only Sofia dared not trust intelligence from a single source, particularly from the single source of the enemy.
As a decision maker, she feared that the Great Tang Group might employ deceit, spreading false news to influence her decision-making and strategy here.
Only to hear the maid continue, "The news came from Brunas, where a large number of slaves are being sent to Northern Ridge. Among these slaves are sailors from the Taren Kingdom."
Sofia rose from the bed, draped on her silky robe, pulled a chair towards her, and sat down, her curves distinctly outlined, "It really is... a bit hard to swallow. What else is there, go on."
With the navy fleet destroyed, the Taren Kingdom had basically been knocked out of this war, and even if the Dorne Kingdom did not attack it on land, it was utterly incapable of resisting the fleet of the Great Tang Group.
Thus, it was only a matter of time before this kingdom fell to Great Tang, or to put it another way, was completely absorbed by a kingdom controlled by Great Tang.
"Additionally, the ground troops of the Xilun Kingdom, a 50,000 strong army, have all surrendered to Dorne and became captives. If there are no accidents, the news of the Taren Kingdom's military's defeat should also be true," the maid reported in a calm tone that was neither sad nor happy, offering a simple overview of the course of the battle at Dorne.
This included a series of maneuvers by Dorne's twin heroes, though not accurate and detailed, but information gathered from the fleeing troops from the Taren Kingdom still corroborated some facts.
At the very least, this battle had surprisingly quickly determined a victor, with the Taren Kingdom's naval debacle accompanied by an army that made an astonishing retreat over a thousand miles...
"Then, Lady Sofia, what should we do next?" The maid, who had never encountered such a thorny issue, could only earnestly ask her mistress.
In fact, she was capable and had the authority to deal with minor issues herself—but recently, there had been an exception; for any matters related to the Tang Group, she found she could no longer cope and had to leave them to Sofia to resolve personally.
"There aren't many good options! Go to Brunas for me," Sofia, after pondering for about a minute, suddenly instructed her confidante.
"Hm?" The maid was taken aback because it had been a long time since she'd been sent out on any mission, as ordinary opponents neither required nor warranted her involvement.
Normally, a Shireck executive could handle issues within a kingdom; the Shireck Consortium was too large to need the council's members to deal with trivial matters.
But now, it seems... it wasn't just a so-called 'normal situation.'
Sofia turned to her most capable subordinate, instructing, "Have a good talk with that Tang Mo, tell him that not all is unanimous within the Shireck Consortium, and there are those who are still willing to converse with him earnestly... "
She knew she didn't need to elaborate; her subordinate would grasp her meaning. So she waited a few seconds for her aide to adjust to the sudden travel arrangement before continuing, "Then, try to make him understand that money... cannot be earned by one person alone, and sometimes having a rival can actually make business more lucrative."
"You mean?" The maid roughly understood Sofia's intention, but she still wanted to confirm the details with her mistress.
Sofia smiled, a breathtakingly beautiful smile filled with confidence and pride, which left the maid utterly enchanted, "I don't mind becoming his adversary—an adversary who collaborates behind the scenes, yet competes on the surface! As long as it's profitable, I'm willing to concede a portion of the profits... "
"Then, what shall we want in return?" Understanding Sofia's intention, the maid inquired.
"Warships! Brand-new warships, steel warships! And also merchant ships! For this, I am willing to covertly assist and cede the Poplar Kingdom, the Rosewood Kingdom, and the Phalak Kingdom to the Great Tang Group."
"What if he doesn't agree?" the maid asked worriedly.
Sofia's expression turned cold, and with a chilling look in her eyes, she curtly responded to the maid's concern, "If he doesn't agree, then we'll just have to protract the conflict until the Great Tang Group's supplies run short, until we ourselves are fragmented, and nobody gains any advantage from our mutual losses."
"But..." the maid looked at Sofia with concern.
She knew that dragging things out required capital, and if the Great Tang Group could quickly resolve the remaining belligerent nations, then the initiative would completely shift into the hands of the Great Tang Group.
So, the basis of the negotiation seemed to hinge on whether the war could continue. If the war were to end, then Shireck's desire for new warship technology, or for the oceans, would merely be a pipe dream.
Sofia looked into the distance with a hint of resignation and sighed softly, her demeanor softening as she said, "I know! It all depends on whether the Poplar Kingdom, the Rosewood Kingdom, and the Phalak Kingdom can withstand his next... assault!"
"Go!" After a few seconds of silence, Sofia, looking towards the distant sunrise, spoke, "Once you get to Brunas, send me a telegram."
"Yes! Your subordinate understands!" The maid gave a small bow and then left the room.