"Attention!"
The two soldiers who had been standing lazily on the dock in white Marleyan military uniforms immediately snapped into an upright stance.
This was because a stern-looking officer had walked to the edge of the dock with his hands clasped behind his back, making the two guards who had just been slacking off grow extremely nervous.
However, the officer seemed to have no intention of punishing them, which made the two guards let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Magath stood silently at the dock, his mind still replaying the morning's meeting. General Calvi's rare fury, loudly questioning why the Warrior Unit had failed again and again.
Magath did not explain. He merely lowered his head and remained silent. That's right—the Marley Central Command had received intelligence passed back from Zeke and the others: the plan to seize the Founder had completely failed.
Not only had they successively lost the Jaw Titan, the Female Titan, and the Colossal Titan—this time even the naval major Koris had been captured. Such a result was something the upper echelons of Marley found hard to accept.
The naval commander had even openly cursed Magath's Warrior Unit as trash. Koris was an officer the commander greatly favored, so his fury was understandable. Magath understood that as well.
Standing on the dock now, Magath was here precisely to receive Zeke and these failed Marleyan warriors.
Just as Magath was deep in thought, the roar of a ship's horn sounded. He raised his head, and a warship gradually came into view.
With a satchel on his back and a dispirited expression, Reiner stepped down from the deck, setting foot on the homeland he had muttered about countless times on Paradis Island. But why was there not the slightest bit of joy in his heart? Instead, there was an indescribable, intense sense of loss.
The Marleyan four-man squad of the past—now only he remained...
Pieck kept her head lowered, but upon closer look her expression was rather calm, as if she did not particularly care about these outcomes. Of course, Pieck did not show it openly.
Zeke, walking at the very front, was the first to notice Magath. He hurried over, then lowered his head and bent at the waist, speaking with great sincerity:
"Sorry, Captain Magath. The Warrior Unit has disappointed you and the motherland. We are guilty!"Reiner and Pieck followed, bowing together in apology.
Looking at Zeke—taller than himself—bowing in apology, Magath sighed inwardly. These warriors were all ones he had personally trained. Their bond was already deep. If Magath were truly to say words of harsh reprimand, he simply could not bring himself to do it.
After a long while, Magath merely turned around and said,
"Zeke, come with me. Headquarters wants you to explain the details of the operation. Pieck, return to the barracks. Reiner... you haven't been back for years. Permission granted for half a day at home, then return to the barracks."
With that, Magath turned and left.
Reiner froze for a moment. Home? Right—he still had family. He quickly lowered his head in thanks.
"Thank you, Captain Magath!"
Zeke pushed his glasses up, glanced at Reiner, then followed after Magath.
Not far from the dock, a shadowy figure smoking a cigarette slowly stubbed it out, then turned and left.
...
Liberio Internment Zone.
Wearing a red armband, Reiner walked toward his home with a somewhat dazed expression. Around him, many Eldians wearing armbands cast glances and whispered among themselves.
Bang!
"Ouch!"
The sound of a collision mixed with the clatter of bottles scattering across the ground.
Reiner lifted his head and realized he had bumped into an Eldian girl wearing a light brown armband. She looked not much older than Reiner. A pair of amber-colored eyes were strikingly beautiful, and her face was quite pretty, though her complexion was a bit pale.
The bundle she was holding fell to the ground, spilling many items—lots of small bottles.
The girl hurriedly gathered her things in a fluster. Reiner also crouched down to help pick them up, apologizing as he did so.
"I'm really sorry—it's my fault for not watching where I was going. I'm sorry."
"It's no pro—eh?!"
The girl had been about to say it was fine, but when she looked up, her amber eyes suddenly caught sight of the red armband on Reiner's shoulder. Her expression tightened. She hastily picked up her bundle and left.
Reiner opened his mouth, but no words came out. He sighed and continued toward his home.
The Eldian girl weaved through several turns, passing through multiple narrow alleys. Only after cautiously scanning her surroundings did she enter a small house.
The moment she stepped inside, a sharp medicinal odor mixed with a faint smell of blood rushed toward her.
"I'm back! I got the medicine!"
"That's great, Serena, well done."
A young man happily took the bundle from Serena's hands.
Serena yanked the armband off her shoulder and walked deeper into the house, opening the back door. Beyond it was a fairly spacious backyard, where many injured people lay, wrapped in bandages, their wounds varying in severity.
These were all core members of the Eldian Restorationists, and also the last resistance organization of the Eldian people.
Serena walked over to a man who had already lost his eyesight. The man seemed to sense her presence as well.
"Jack, the news seems to be true. The Marleyan Warrior Unit's operation on the island failed. I even bumped into a Marleyan warrior today—seemed to be that Armored Titan." Serena said.
Hearing this, the blind Jack struggled to sit up.
"Is that so? Then the Marleyans really took a heavy blow this time. Looks like the strength of our kin on that island exceeded our expectations. That might mean..."
Serena directly interrupted Jack.
"What are you still thinking about? The current situation is the most critical. Someone definitely leaked our operation plan. Otherwise, there couldn't have been so many soldiers around Landon, and we wouldn't have sacrificed so many friends!"
Jack's expression dimmed.
"Indeed. This failure dealt a devastating blow to our entire Restorationist faction. But who exactly sold us out?"
Serena narrowed her eyes. A trace of killing intent flashed in her amber pupils.
"It must have been that Ebson! How could a Marleyan noble truly help us out of the goodness of his heart?"
Jack said, "No! Serena, you're still young. You don't know how much Mr. Ebson helped our Restorationists back then. That's impossible!"
Serena shot back, "Then do you think it was our own comrades who betrayed us?"
Jack was stunned. Indeed, he couldn't believe that comrades who had lived and fought alongside them day after day would betray them.
Serena let out a cold laugh. A murderous glint flashed across her beautiful face as she spoke decisively:
"Every day I go back to see Ebson once. If it really was him who betrayed us, I'll kill him myself! If I don't come back tomorrow, hurry and get the children out of their hands."
Jack pondered for a moment. It seemed there was no other option.
"Serena, be extra careful..."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo