Godfather

Clang, clang, clang...

A red-and-black, awe-inspiring Steel Behemoth crushed through the snowy-white steam, racing at high speed along the dragon-like tracks winding through green mountains and clear waters.

Whooo—!

As it passed through a deep tunnel bored straight through the mountain, it happened to meet another steam locomotive coming from the opposite direction. Both trains sounded a shrill whistle at the same time in greeting as they flashed past each other.

The passengers who witnessed the two trains hurtling past one another felt their hearts pound and cried out in alarm.

Sea Origin Calendar, Year 201—the first year of the third century of the Age of Exploration.

However, the railway this steam locomotive was now traveling on was no longer the Coastal Railway that ran north to south along the East Coast. It was the Shattered Star Sea Railway, linking the East and West Coasts—the world's first transcontinental railway.

And unlike the early-built Coastal Railway, this Shattered Star Sea Railway, likewise constructed by the Coastal Railway Company, was a double-track railway that allowed trains to run in both directions simultaneously.

It began in Saint Evan City on the East Coast and ended in Santa Monica on the West Coast, formerly occupied by Mother of Water Mairo, with a total length exceeding 4,000 kilometers.

Its speed had accordingly increased to 80 kilometers per hour. An ordinary person needed only two days for a one-way journey across the entire duchy.

Construction had begun alongside the Western Advance and was only fully completed a year ago.

Through this railway and the World Bridge, the Garratt Duchy had become completely integrated economically, propelling it into an economic powerhouse linking the Black Sea and the Shattered Star Sea.

Land, mineral deposits, population... and countless other resources had also been consolidated.

When the Western Advance had