Munitions Empire-Chapter 638 - : 597 candles seventeen

Chapter 638: 597 candles seventeen

In the early morning of Brunas, the groggy guards were listlessly watching an old man sweeping the streets pass by them.

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The place had become much quieter than before, and the elders who remained never ceased telling the young newcomers about the former glory of Brunas.

Brunas was once safe enough to leave your doors unlocked, and even the beggars here earned several times more than farmers in other places.

Without the slightest exaggeration, this place was once the richest on the entire planet. Those who had never been to Brunas couldn’t fully comprehend its former prosperity.

In fact, after just a few days living here, anyone could easily understand just how extravagant it once was.

The streets were lined with electric streetlights, the power consumed in one night enough to make some cities green with envy. Moreover, every night countless neon lights would twinkle in its streets and alleys.

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There were 7 large casinos, more than 30 small ones operating all night, and massive cinemas that played the latest movies continuously every evening.

At the horse track outside the city, bettors waved their tickets and shouted frantically every week, with so many parked cars they could even cause traffic jams.

The factories in Brunas employed thousands of workers who cycled or drove in swarms that filled the city streets like a tide when the work day ended—a truly spectacular sight.

The city’s air was permeated with a scent of industry that filled its citizens with pride, though the severe pollution had them coughing constantly. If window frames went a day without cleaning, a layer of black coal dust would settle upon them.

The huge spherical storage tanks of the chemical plants were connected to the surrounding factories by steel pipes, and even while walking the paths of these factories, you couldn’t see the complete sky above.

This was Brunas, the industrial jewel that Leines I had obsessed over, going to great lengths in an attempt to possess!

Unfortunately, Brunas was no longer the same as it had been. Despite the Laines Empire’s best efforts to revive its brilliance, it simply couldn’t be restored to its former state.

Although numerous compensation policies were introduced and a large influx of workers was relocated, the decline of Brunas was still irreversible and apparent, unstoppable by any means.

The once bustling Brunas Grand Hotel, previously hard to book, now had an occupancy rate less than half of what it used to be.

The Silver Fox Tavern, a hive of activity six months ago, was now tightly shut, its sign damaged and neglected, with no one to repair it.

The nobility of the Laines Empire, having come here, divvied up the previous wealthy districts and took away some profitable industries, leaving the rest to an irreversible decline and desolation.

Even so, the Laines Empire still made a killing: The machines and equipment left behind by the Great Tang Group were worth billions, instantly providing Laines with more than tenfold the production capacity.

This sudden boost in output even caught the Laines side off guard, causing indigestion: they didn’t even comprehend the purpose of many production projects.

Of course, most factory products were actually outdated. Since the development of Dragon Island, Brunas’s industry had rarely upgraded.

It’s hard to imagine, with the Great Tang Group already mass-producing third generation Rolls-Royce luxury cars, what use there was for the first generation Rolls-Royce car production lines left in Brunas.

For the Laines Empire, these technologies perhaps still had some value for reference, but for the Great Tang Group, they were largely obsolete.

Nonetheless, the Laines Empire’s upgrades weren’t so minor: within Brunas’s military factories was a complete Thompson Submachine Gun production line, along with a supporting .45 caliber ammunition production line.

At the same time, there were lines for the Maxim machine guns, howitzers, MK tanks, airships…

This was truly a windfall: previously, acquiring these weapons would have cost a fortune. Now, the Laines Empire could possess these advanced weapons and equipment without spending a dime.

We’ll not even speak of the munitions factories; just a portion of the remaining pharmaceutical plants was enough for the Laines Empire to make a substantial profit.

However, to prevent the Great Tang Group from taking any machinery, the Laines Empire still took over some production contracts from them.

These were weapon sales contracts previously signed by the Great Tang Group: for instance, the MK series tanks sold by the Great Tang Group were now managed by the Laines Empire.

Now these factories are still in operation, with workers from various regions reassigned to resume production in Brunas. While it’s impossible for now to restore production to its original level, the majority of the factories have already restarted.

On the dock, an old sailboat gradually drew close to the pier, the gangplank lowered by the crew as they calmly unloaded their catch.

In this era, if it was purely for transport, it was rare to see new sailboats anymore; most of them were used for fishing. The number of ocean-going sailboats was gradually decreasing, as only the old ones awaiting retirement continued to persevere.

The sailboat moored at the pier was clearly one of these outdated vessels: the boat itself was already very worn, yet they still hadn’t gotten rid of it, just making do with what they had for the time being.

In fact, this kind of making do was not cost-effective: steamships and similar vessels were in use, and their operational costs were not necessarily much more expensive than sailboats. They might be more powerful, so perhaps they were even more cost-effective.

However, whether one could obtain fuel, coal, or a purchase quota for a vessel, these were the important reasons constraining ship owners from replacing their boats.

This morning, the dock was not busy, save for a massive cargo ship arriving with rubber from Dorne, its cranes moving the goods onto the pier.

Next to the sailboat, dockworkers had gathered around and were unloading the catch. This smaller dock was specially designed for sailboats without cranes, so unloading was more troublesome.

“Whoo!” With a long blast of the steam whistle, everyone’s gaze shifted to another pier nearby, focusing on a large ship that was entering the harbor.

That was a warship, with two huge smokestacks still trailing wisps of smoke. It slowly moved to the dock, with waterproof canvas sheathing its fore and aft gun barrels.

Without needing a closer look, it was clearly distinguishable as a Brunas-class ironclad warship, manufactured by the Great Tang Group and flying the flag of the Laines Empire.

In the distance at sea, another cruiser made by Shireck was also preparing to enter the harbor, with another Shireck-made cruiser nearby adjusting its course.

It was a fleet! The Laines had transferred a fleet from the south to Brunas! At a glance, there appeared to be seven or eight warships, all ironclads, a dark and formidable presence that carried a sense of overwhelming wealth and power.

The dockworkers watched these warships slowly moor, while their foreman impatiently shouted behind them, “Get back to work! Get back to work! What are you staring at? Haven’t you seen enough over the years?”

Accompanied by his shouts, the workers reluctantly bowed their heads and resumed unloading the freshly docked catch.

The old sweeper had disappeared without a trace, and the Laines Empire soldiers on guard didn’t pay any mind. He stood there with his weapon on his back, curiously observing the lineup of warships in the distance.

In a building near the dock, the hunched figure of the old man knocked on a door. His knocking was rhythmic and soon an elderly woman inside opened the door.

Exchanging a glance, the old man pressed his hand a few times into the palm of the old woman, and then casually left.

The woman closed the door, then walked to another room, sliding open the wardrobe to reveal a hidden door and entered the neighboring room.

This room was next to her own dwelling, and on the desk sat a telegraph machine. The woman took out a codebook from her pocket, placed it beside the telegraph, put on headphones, and began to work.

She tapped diligently, and soon she sent out the most important intelligence. Afterward, she stowed the codebook and calmly returned to her own room.

In the telegraph room on Dragon Island, an officer on duty tore off a message he had just recorded and handed the telegraph to another officer on duty behind him, “A telegram from Candle 17!”

“Candle 17? From Brunas?” The duty officer immediately looked down at the content of the intelligence, and the next second he turned and ran, his usual leisurely demeanor gone.

The echo of his boots striking the floor tiles rang out in the hallway, and soon a telegram flew across the Endless Sea to Anpu.

“Intelligence from Brunas! A message from Candle 17, the Laines fleet has been located, in Brunas!” an officer burst into the conference room, shouting loudly to everyone.

“Phew!” The naval liaison officer let out a sigh of relief, and a bit of tension eased on Luff’s face as well.

“It seems that the enemy fleet hasn’t fully assembled, at least Laines hasn’t participated in this military operation against Dragon Island by Shireck,” a general took off his cap, scratching his head in relief as he spoke.

“It appears to be the case,” Tang Mo also showed a smile—clearly, the opposing sides hadn’t completely joined forces, which was definitely good news for the Great Tang Kingdom.

“Report!” Another breathless officer charged into the meeting room with more good news, “The Ice Cold Empire’s fleet has been located too, their fleet has returned to Eternal Winter Port!”

“Good! Except for Shireck’s fleet, only Dorne and Gobur’s fleets are left posing a threat to us,” Tang Mo’s smile broadened.