Inside the offices of the Marley Central Command and the Ministry of National Defense, facing a mass of angry gazes, Zeke remained remarkably calm.
After Zeke finished reporting the specific actions of the Warrior Unit, the conference room erupted like a pot brought to a boil.
"This failure of the Marley Warrior Unit is nothing short of a disgrace! We placed far too many expectations on these warriors, but what do we have now? Even the Colossal Titan has fallen! I demand that all Marley warriors be stripped of their Titan powers immediately, and that Theo Magath be relieved of his position as captain so we can make a new selection!" the naval commander Haims said furiously as he made his proposal to General Calvi.
This suggestion immediately triggered heated arguments among the senior Marley military officials present, but the majority were clearly in favor of replacing all the warriors in the Warrior Unit. At the root of it all was the arrogance of the Marley military, which made it difficult for them to accept defeat, leaving them to find excuses to conceal their failure.
General Calvi frowned. From the bottom of his heart, Calvi was inclined toward Magath and the Warrior Unit. Ultimately, Calvi was different from the other Marley high officials—he did not harbor as much discrimination against Eldians.
More importantly, what Calvi truly cared about was Marley's hegemonic status in the world. Hegemony required military force to sustain it, and Eldians were one of the primary sources of manpower for the Marleyan army. As a career soldier, Calvi's policies toward Eldians were relatively moderate—of course, only in comparison to other Marleyans.
Calvi's weakness, however, might be his excessive indecisiveness. Seeing so many high-ranking officials calling for Magath's dismissal and the stripping of the Warrior Unit's Titan powers, Calvi hesitated.
At this moment, Magath, who had not spoken at all until now, stepped forward and said sternly,
"General, please consider this carefully. This generation of the Marley Warrior Unit is the strongest group of warriors we have trained to date.
All of you are well aware of Zeke's performance. The title 'Spear of Marley' alone is enough to strike fear into our enemies. There is also the Cart Titan—our mobile fortress, whose powerful mobility is something we desperately need. And then there is the Armored Titan. According to Zeke's report, Reiner Braun's Armored Titan has displayed an entirely new level of power."
After a brief pause, Magath continued, "If we strip the current warriors of their powers, how can we guarantee that the next generation will be able to fully unleash the Titans' strength? We all know the combat capability of the previous Beast Titan, Ksaver. Therefore, I oppose stripping the Warrior Unit of their Titan powers."
Magath's words were well-reasoned. Calvi nodded, but then said,
"However, the power on Paradis Island still came as a shock to us. According to Zeke, the island's technological level is still stuck at where we were several decades ago?"
Zeke nodded and replied, "Yes. The weapons on the island are extremely backward, mainly flintlock firearms and crude artillery. Our failure was due to a lack of intelligence regarding the Titans on the island. The Jaw Titan was devoured by an exiled Pure Titan before it could even enter the battle. At the same time, we never anticipated the existence of a lost power of the Attack Titan, which ultimately led to the Female Titan being taken."
"The Jaw Titan, the Female Titan, the Colossal Titan, the Attack Titan, the Founder—without realizing it, the Titan powers on that island have already caught up to those of Marley. What are we supposed to do about this?"
Naval Commander Haims looked at Calvi and stood up, saying,
"General, I propose that we immediately mobilize the full strength of the navy and use our strongest firepower to swiftly pacify those Eldians on the island before they fully master the Titan powers!"
Magath said, "But the Founder is still on that island. According to legend, the island—"
Before Magath could finish, Naval Commander Haims sneered,
"What is it? Tens of thousands of Titans? Magath, that's nothing more than a story. Are you really being frightened by a fairy tale?"
"A forced assault? That might actually work..." Calvi was clearly tempted by Haims's proposal.
Zeke opened his mouth, prepared to deliver the argument he had already planned. Paradis Island in its current state could not withstand a Marleyan invasion, so Zeke had to find a way to stop it. But before he could speak, the office doors were suddenly slammed open.
A Marleyan rushed in, clutching a piece of paper with a panicked expression. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a military staff officer.
Standing before the assembled high command, the staff officer panted and nervously delivered the intelligence he had just received.
"Re-reporting to the General—Middle Easterners, the Middle Easterners' allied forces have declared war on us. The border fortresses of Heren, Wading, and Gashayak have all fallen..."
"What did you say? The Middle Easterners have declared war on us?!" Calvi slammed the table and leapt to his feet in fury.
"How dare those Middle Easterners? Was their defeat last time not enough to make them fear us?!"
Calvi was like an enraged lion. None of the officers present dared to speak, because this was the first time in decades that anyone had dared to challenge Marley's authority.
Zeke was shocked—and at the same time, delighted. Heaven was truly on his side. With the Middle Easterners serving as a target, Marley would be unable to threaten Paradis Island for the time being.
Sure enough, with bloodshot eyes, Calvi ordered the entire nation to prepare for war. This time, he would make those bearded Middle Easterners understand just how terrifying Marley's fury could be.
Magath seized the opportunity to propose that the Warrior Unit be deployed in the fighting. Calvi agreed without much thought. After all, the sheer power of the Titans was obvious. The Middle Easterners likely dared to declare war because they had learned of the Marley Warrior Unit's failure on Paradis Island and the loss of three powerful Titans, which gave them the confidence to start a war.
However, Zeke ultimately suggested that a small number of warships still be dispatched to monitor Paradis Island and continuously gather intelligence on its movements. This proposal also received Calvi's approval.
And so, the massive war machine that was Marley began to turn. What they were about to face was likewise a war machine that had lain dormant for decades, watching and waiting.
...
Inside a dimly lit room, a lone desk lamp glowed. A gaunt figure sat there, occasionally writing something down.
At that moment, the door opened. The stench of tobacco rushed in, making Ebson frown. He said coolly,
"Bill, I told you—don't come disturb me unless it's urgent."
The tall Bill walked over to Ebson's side, placed a file in front of him, and said,
"The Middle Easterners have declared war on Marley. Also, this is the Warrior Unit report we managed to obtain from Marley's high command. It's all here." After speaking, Bill pulled out a cigarette, flicked his lighter, and lit it.
Ebson flipped through the documents and said indifferently,
"A war between the Middle Easterners and Marley was inevitable. Now both sides are using our weapons, so let them fight however they like. In the end, the ones who'll make a fortune are still us of the Louis family... wait!"
Ebson suddenly froze, his eyes fixed on the document with an expression of disbelief.