Power

The troops dispatched by the Russian Empire were stationed in the waters off Washington, and the warships' artillery continued to pour shells onto Washington's port.

These Russians were truly brutal; not only did they treat people from other countries as subhuman, but they also treated their own people as such.

They not only bombarded the coastline with shells, but small groups of storming troops also kept up their relentless attacks, grinding down the enemy's forces purely with human lives.

Amphibious assaults have always been extremely difficult, though not as much as mountain warfare and urban combat, but the overwhelming artillery fire and charges directly into bullets also heavily depleted troop strength.

Especially when the attacking side lacked logistics and support, this made their assault even more challenging, and they had to land as quickly as possible, otherwise all previous sacrifices would be in vain.

Although the garrison general of Seattle, a coastal city in Washington State, had begun conscripting soldiers, who would be willing to go and die now, knowing it was wartime?

Moreover, these untrained soldiers would only serve as cannon fodder; the only truly combat-effective forces were the five thousand Washington State defense soldiers.

The Russians had a peculiar flaw, especially in battlefield combat.

They would initially fight as if holding back, dragging out favorable situations until they deteriorated. But they also liked to get more hyped up and frantic the more they fought.

Initially, a beach landing of twenty thousand soldiers against Washington State's mere five thousand soldiers should have been, if not effortless, at least smooth and successful.

After all, in this era, there weren't such monstrous coastal artillery, nor was everyone like Mr. Dutch Van der Linde, who built bunkers all along the coast.

With only a few, a dozen cannons, a dozen Maxim guns, and a partially damaged Gatling hand-cranked machine gun, these were practically negligible for a landing force of twenty thousand.

But the Russian fleet stubbornly refused to land all at once.

They first sent out troops to probe, and only when the enemy was prepared did they truly intend to act.

A continuous battle raged for a full week.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The warships' artillery continued to bombard the coast of Washington State.

Commander Maxim, the Russian Empire's commander on the warship, narrowed his eyes, looking at the smoke-filled port being bombarded by artillery.

He was slightly nearsighted, but that didn't matter; it didn't affect his strategy formulation.

"It seems America's internal strife has truly severely affected the entire nation. We've been fighting in Washington for so long, and even now, there's been no reaction whatsoever, only a mere Dutch Van der Linde has issued a hostile statement. It seems our opportunity has finally arrived.

Send a message to the Tsar. Request him to send reinforcements. Although the eastern lands are tempting, America is also quite good!

Damn it, I think I'm about to be ennobled and made a prime minister!"

Indeed, in Commander Maxim's mind, the reason he hadn't directly taken Washington State's port for so long was that he was observing America's attitude.

One couldn't say his behavior was idiotic; it could only be considered a normal level.

After all, most Russian officials were hereditary, passing down from grandfather to father, father to son, and son to grandson. It was quite normal for Mr. Maxim to possess this level of competence.

Why did Russia always manage to turn advantages into disadvantages in war, and then, relying on their incredibly high HP, exhaust the enemy to death?

A large factor lay in this semi-hereditary system.

Second, third, and fourth generations who only knew how to theorize were fine; those who were uneducated and incompetent were rampant. How could such a group of people lead their soldiers to battle and achieve an advantage?

So, they would only turn it into a disadvantage.

But because of the vast land and abundant resources, and the fact that the common people at the bottom already lived hard lives and didn't care about living or dying, they weren't afraid of sacrifice, and thus could wear down the enemy to death.

The current Tsar Nicholas II of the Russian Empire was also a mediocre ruler.

He was far inferior to William II, but his ambition was even greater than William II's.

After Nicholas II ascended the throne, he held titles such as Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland, etc., but he was still not satisfied with his titles being too short.

He fantasized about gaining more titles like 'Emperor of China, Emperor of Japan' through war.

However, his personal ability was severely lacking, he favored bloody oppression internally, was excellent at killing his own people, was exceptionally autocratic, indecisive, lacked any personality, wavering, and short-sighted...

There were four full pages of people criticizing him on Baidu Baike.

But all of this proved one point: Nicholas II was a person who would absolutely not let such a good opportunity slip by, especially when someone deliberately provoked him.

Thinking that his official position was about to rise, Maxim's face squeezed out a very comfortable smile.

"Let the soldiers rest for an hour. After an hour, all out! Completely take Washington State's port and take over Seattle!

Kill all those who stand in the way, except for the mayor of Seattle!"

Maxim viciously issued the final order.

Meanwhile, Mr. Van der Linde's train also arrived at Seattle's train station.

"Choo-Choo-Choo..."

Three train whistles in a row announced the arrival of Mr. Van der Linde's party.

Mr. McCann, the Mayor of Seattle, ran over, drenched in sweat, with a large group of Seattle officials.

The news of Mr. Van der Linde's armed forces arriving had already been sent to the Mayor of Seattle via telegraph.

Initially, McCann was very happy, believing that their Seattle was finally saved.

But then, he fell into a state of worry and panic.

He began to fear that this Mr. Dutch Van der Linde was a cruel man. To this day, no news has leaked from the powerful figures of Saint Denis, which was a very alarming and frightening point.

No one knew what fate had befallen the powerful figures of Saint Denis.

But no one wanted to share that same fate.

So, amidst apprehension and fear, anticipation and helplessness, Mr. Van der Linde's armed train finally arrived majestically in Seattle.

Immediately upon entering the train station, the dark steel train and the uniform Maxim guns on its roof gave Mr. McCann and the group of Seattle officials a significant show of force.

The extended steel train was entirely black, and combined with the prominent and solemn emblem of the VDL Party, it was striking.

Looking at the train's thickened steel plates, a sense of oppression from the American Civil War era arose in the hearts of the Seattle officials.

Damn it, look at this terrifying armored train! Look at the firepower of this train!

The number of Maxim guns and cannons on one train alone was more than their entire Washington State possessed.

Mr. Dutch Van der Linde was definitely not someone to be trifled with!

"Swish!"

Their shock had not yet ended when the armored train's door was suddenly pulled open.

As the train door opened,

Van der Linde's Guard, wearing unified combat uniforms, disembarked extremely quickly, each carrying a Marko semi-automatic rifle, a small pistol, and a single-person backpack.

These soldiers were all well-fed and strong, their faces filled with resolute and grim expressions.

Upon disembarking, they acted swiftly, immediately cordoning off the entire train station area, and even specifically dispatched a team of soldiers to surround Mr. McCann, the Mayor of Seattle, and the others who had come to greet them.

The soldiers at the front had completely surrounded the entire train station, while soldiers continuously disembarked from the train at the rear, transporting various cannons, machine guns, shells, and even military supplies from within the train.

Looking at the boxes of shells being unloaded and the cannon barrels gleaming coldly in the sunlight,

There were even several freight trains behind the four armed trains.

These freight trains carried huge cannon barrels, and even troop carriers that looked like extended cars, which they had never seen before, and even trucks used to transport cannon barrels...

All sorts of equipment and vehicles they had never even seen appeared before their eyes.

Besides shock, the officials of Seattle were left with only deep fear.

Damn it, the combat power ratio of Dutch Van der Linde's forces was simply terrifying!

This terrifying equipment ratio was far, far stronger than the American army during the American Civil War! In fact, no country in the world currently could surpass their firepower ratio.

It was clear that Mr. Dutch Van der Linde placed extraordinary importance on his soldiers.

The Seattle officials had originally thought the United States Federal Government was weak and incompetent, unable to even resist the forces of Dutch Van der Linde, a western warlord, allowing him to storm the capital and capture most of the officials, utterly useless.

But now, seeing the firepower of these men and the morale of their soldiers, the Seattle officials no longer had any doubts.

Let alone fighting the United States Federal Government, these soldiers could probably easily take down anywhere they wanted to fight right now!

Pushing through their Seattle would be like child's play!

Mayor McCann of Seattle felt that compared to these soldiers and this equipment, their so-called battlefield was like a game.