Munitions Empire Chapter 2021 - 1884: Frenzied Red

"You are mad! You're sealing your own doom!" The man collapsed onto the floor, tears and mucus blending, ruining the fine attire he once cherished. Right now, not a shred of his former dignity remained. He mustered every bit of energy to yell at Sofia, his voice hoarse like a damaged bellows: "You'll perish! All of us will!"

Sofia shot him a contemptuous look, as though he were a worthless bug nearing its end. She idly stroked her fiery red hair with her slim fingers, checking her perfect makeup in the mirror, completely ignoring the man's desperate cries.

"Who can say?" Her voice carried a casual lilt, laced with mockery, treating death like mere entertainment.

In utter desperation, the man clawed toward the pills strewn across the Persian rug. That was his final lifeline, but his shaking hands lacked the power to grasp them. Wracked with torment, he pleaded through sobs: "Please, Sofia, forget it! Drop this mad scheme; we can still vanish and rebuild our lives. Perhaps... we could find a new existence..."

He understood that showing up with Sofia at Tang Mo's coronation would thrust him onto a one-way road to ruin. Success or failure of her plot, death was his inevitable fate.

Black Crow's poisons had seeped deep into his bones, ravaged his flesh, shattered his resolve, turning existence into endless agony. The unrelenting suffering shadowed his every moment, driving him to yield to Sofia's lunacy. More than death's terror, the Black Crow's torture was unbearable—this agony outdid death itself, pushing him to crave oblivion.

Sofia pivoted leisurely, gazing down at the wretch on the floor with eyes brimming with apathy and scorn: "Quit? If I quit, Sofia might as well be finished. Why bother dragging on as an empty husk?"

The "we" in his plea cut Sofia deeply. She'd never dreamed of wasting her days with this pathetic fool. Survival wasn't her top priority, and sharing life with garbage was pure misery.

To her, he ranked no higher than a worm, his presence soiling her just by sight. On paper, she was his spouse, but she'd never allowed him near her, not even a hair's breadth.

Abruptly, Sofia balled her fist, knuckles whitening, quivering from the strain: "You just don't get it!" Each syllable ground out harshly, grating like claws scraping slate.

"Revenge!" She halted, drawing in a sharp breath to swallow her fury: "Revenge fuels my every breath!"

Her head snapped up, eyes blazing with wild fervor, akin to a cornered predator—frantic yet brimming with ferocity. She advanced on the man, towering over him with loathing and revulsion: "I will force Tang Mo to pay dearly!"

Teeth clenched, every word dripped venomous grudge: "He must see that I emerge as the true winner!"

With a soft spin, her hand swept across the tea table's contents, sending fragile porcelain crashing down, the sharp crack sending shivers through the writhing man below.

High-grade Black Crow Pills spilled from the jar onto the rug, their inky hue like alluring voids. The floor-bound man's face twisted further in misery; he teetered on total breakdown.

He writhed in pain, body shaking violently, face ashen as sweat cascaded like a storm. He fought to rise but managed only feeble rolls across the carpet.

"You're crazy!" His hoarse cry broke, laced with choking sobs of despair.

"You've gone totally off the rails! This path leads nowhere but doom—no happy ending!" His quivering arm stretched toward Sofia's leg, fingers closing on empty air.

Sofia scoffed coldly, eyeing him like insignificant vermin: "Hmph!"

She spun away, striding deliberately to the window, her alluring bare feet sinking silently into the plush rug, evoking the silent tread of death incarnate.

"The failure last time," she murmured steadily, tone deep yet potent, "stemmed from not being ruthless enough!"

Whirling back, a savage spark flashed in her gaze: "Had I struck harder then, more boldly..." She paused for a heavy inhale, then spat out: "Tang Mo would be defeated already!"

She approached the window, gazing at the vibrant city wrapped in a celebratory mood, her mind wandering back two decades. In those days, the Great Tang Group hadn't ascended yet, and Tang Mo remained merely an unknown small blacksmith. Had she unleashed the entire might of Shireck Consortium, perhaps she could have crushed the budding Tang Mo right in his infancy. She shut her eyes, images of Tang Mo's young visage from back then and the fierce ambition gleaming in his gaze surging through her thoughts.

However, in that era, she lacked the power to predict the future, nor was she willing to risk it all. Furthermore, Shireck itself brimmed with internal cliques and schemes, leaving no one to notice a trivial little blacksmith shop. She gradually parted her eyes, a flicker of remorse and defiance gleaming inside them.