Tyranny of Steel

With the construction of the Neuschwaben Canal having been completed. It was only a matter of time before a massive fleet of warships and cargo vessels alike made their way through the pass. The Germans planned to make use of this strip of land, to further fuel their colonization efforts of the West coast of the new world, and the lands that lie beyond. 

While this was happening, a similar effort was being conducted on land, in the continent of Lindheim. On a train, there existed a group of settlers, from the east of the Mississippi, who were moving westward and into the great plains. 

Over the past ten years, nearly one million ethnic Germans had moved from Europe and into the continent of Lindheim. Where they constructed a variety of small cities, which ranged from the east coast, all the way to the Mississippi river. 

Through the efforts of the Imperial Germany army, they had pushed the native population westward in a brutal campaign to drive them out of lands claimed by the German Empire. Those who were wise went south, and were finding their way to the safety of the Aztec Empire, which had in a way become a haven for native tribes. 

As for the rest, they would be continuously pushed west, until there was no land left for them to dwell upon. This was Berengar's revenge on the betrayal he had suffered at the hands of the man he once considered to be among his closest of friends. A man whose thinking was corrupted by his native wife. 

On this train, were various families, who were riding westward and into the recently settled city, which went by the name of Arnulfshafen, named after the man who helped first settle the new world. After all, Berengar had not revealed the truth of Arnulf's betrayal to his Empire, and instead buried him as a proper war hero. 

The lands west of the Mississippi were currently inhabited by a variety of warring tribes. Those great plains indians who previously inhabited the lands, as well as all the other tribes who were pushed out of the east at the hands of the Reich. 

Because of this, the trains which carried the german passengers were actually armored and outfitted with military personnel who manned a series of cannons and flak guns, in the event of native attack. Which was a more common occurrence than one might think. 

Sitting on the train, and sipping a cup of a tea, was a sharply dressed man, who appeared to have come directly from the fatherland. This man was a veteran of the German Army, and was selected by The German Parliament's Committee for Colonial Affairs to be the first mayor of the recently chartered city in the land that was once known as Kansas in Berengar's past life. 

This was Germany's first major attempt to colonize west of the Mississippi and, as a result, they had faced fierce resistance from the natives. Thus, compelling the Fatherland to dispatch a man more than qualified to oversee the city's development in such a petty region of the world. 

Cuert von Horgen continued to sip on his tea, and read from his newspaper, while silently observing the other German citizens who sat in their seats with anxious expressions. Though there were many opportunities for land ownership and wealth in the newest colonies, they were also at the forefront of danger. 

It was at this moment that an overwhelming crackle of thunder resounded in the air, which shook the train just slightly. Causing the German mayor to spill his tea. He quickly got up from his seat, and grumbled before looking out the bullet resistant glass, where he saw a large war-band of great plains indians charging towards the train, and firing their arrows at its impenetrable defenses.

Naturally, the loud crack of the air came from the firing of one of several large bore artillery pieces which was embedded in the armored train as a turret. With a single explosion, the 15cm gun ripped apart the horses and their riders without even the slightest bit of effort.

Immediately after the explosion occurred, the sound of chugging filled the air, as one of the flak guns mounted on top of the train, shifted its aim to the field below and sprayed what remained of the natives with a torrent of 2cm high explosive shells. 

The quad mounted flak guns rained their automatic fire upon the area where the shell had exploded, ensuring that not a single ounce of life remained within the zone of impact. Once the operators had fired a short burst, they readjusted their position so that they were not a threat to anything or anyone. 

Cuert simply sat back down upon witnessing such an utter annihilation of the savages and began sipping his tea while reading his paper once more. With train tracks made entirely out of steel and concrete, it was unimaginably difficult for these stone age tribes to damage the German railways, and thus the Reich was free to expand into Lindheim with impunity. 

As for the other citizens on the train, they were slightly spooked by what had occurred, but after everything settled down, they sighed in relief. When Cuert saw this, he was quick to ask why they had been so anxious.

"Tell me, what's got you so riled up about a bunch of stone-age savages? They pose no threat to the reich, or its people. So why are you so terrified of them?"

The man whose family had shuddered in fright gazed upon the middle-aged man and immediately questioned how long he had been in the new world. Judging from his statement, he must not realize the difficulties that many of the German settlers faced. 

"I'm guessing you haven't been here in Lindheim long. While the cities are completely safe, the agricultural sector outside of their stone walls is a lot more dangerous. The German Army can't possibly patrol such vast territory with the limited amount of soldiers they ship to the colonies. Ultimately, so many of us farmers are left to defend ourselves, especially the further we are out from a city. 

From the looks of it, you were probably called in from the fatherland to help Arnulfshafen and its development. Which is fine, but my family and I came out here for the discounted land the government is selling to its citizens. We practically pay nothing for entire square kilometers of land, the condition being we are mostly left on our own to defend it. 

Unfortunately, we are not permitted to own the advanced weapons that the military has access to, so we get by with bolt action rifles and revolvers. Still, sometimes things end poorly, and a homestead might get ransacked by the savages. When that happens, the army usually responds with annihilating the tribe responsible, but that hasn't deterred their attacks. If anything, it has increased their intensity." 

Cuert was surprised to hear this news, as it had not made its way into the fatherland. Upon hearing that the German colonialists were suffering such a plight, he decided to help design a strategy that would actively counter these raids on German homesteads. Thus, he nodded his head in understanding before assuring the family that he would help.

"Now that I'm aware of the situation, I promise to do my best to help homesteaders defend their property from these filthy savages. When we arrive in Arnulfshafen, it will become my first priority."

Despite his kind words, the family did not feel the slightest more secure, and instead sighed in defeat, knowing that they would be forced to endure the burdens that came with seeking opportunity in a strange and foreign land. 

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