"Commander Magath, you've worked hard on the journey. We've finally been waiting for the Warrior Unit to arrive." A weary and elderly Marleyan general clasped Magath's hands and sighed with emotion.
After shaking hands with the general, Magath stood at attention and saluted.
"General Skor, please rest assured. Our Marleyan Warrior Unit will certainly not disappoint the expectations of the motherland."
Behind Magath, Zeke, Reiner, Porco, and Newt also saluted at the same time.
General Skor nodded repeatedly. Commanding the battle at Grayle Fortress these past days had exhausted the old general. After all, because of his age, General Skor had originally already been preparing to retire and live out his remaining years peacefully. But who could have expected war to suddenly break out?
After decades of peaceful days, most of the young officers in today's Marleyan army were so-called top graduates of military academies. Normally they were arrogant and looked down on others, acting proud and full of themselves. They looked down on Skor and the other veteran Marleyan generals. But when the war broke out and these young officers confidently arrived at the battlefield, they discovered that the real battlefield was completely different from what they had learned in books.
A real battlefield changes in an instant. Young officers who only understood theory were practically blind once they stepped onto the battlefield. At the beginning of the war, more than half of the young officers and their units were wiped out by the Middle Easterners. The Marleyan High Command had no choice but to temporarily re-activate the veteran generals who had originally been preparing for retirement. Only then did they barely stabilize the Marleyan army that had nearly collapsed.
Compared to those inexperienced young officers who only knew how to send soldiers charging forward blindly, veteran generals like Skor at least knew how to arrange defensive fortifications, coordinate artillery support, and organize cooperation between different units.
But as the saying goes, times have changed. Skor and the others still held strategic thinking from wars decades ago. Their rigid and outdated strategies were often ineffective against the Middle Easterners.
Now that the Marleyan Warrior Unit had finally arrived, General Skor could finally breathe a sigh of relief. In his memory, whenever Marley deployed the Warrior Unit, victory in war would surely follow.
...
After saying farewell to General Skor, Magath immediately gathered the Warrior Unit to discuss the battle plan.
"Grayle Fortress is different from other fortresses. The surroundings are open and flat, with very little cover. The Armored Titan and the Cart Titan can't approach directly like last time, because the Middle Easterners have deployed a large number of cannons inside the fortress."
Reiner studied the map. Under the dim light, his face looked quite unkempt—his stubble was messy, and his blond hair was tangled. But no one seemed surprised; clearly everyone was already used to it.
"Then should we cover the War Chief while he approaches?"
Zeke smiled slightly and asked Reiner in return.
"Cover me? Commander Magath already said the fortress is packed with artillery. Reiner, are you confident you can protect me?"
Reiner fell silent. Previous battles had already proven that even the powerful Armored Titan couldn't withstand dozens of cannons head-on. Not to mention the Middle Easterners also possessed anti-Titan artillery.
Pieck, resting her chin on her hand, asked,
"Then what should we do?"
Porco crossed his arms proudly.
"Then how about I do what I did before—find a chance to sneak into the fortress, and then attack from inside and outside at the same time?"
Magath shook his head.
"That will be difficult. This situation is different from before. Last time we had an insider among the Middle Easterners, which allowed you to infiltrate. But this time Grayle Fortress is heavily guarded. There's no way for you to sneak in."
Newt, the Crimson Flame Titan, listened to everyone's discussion but remained silent, lowering his head as if deep in thought.
"Grayle Fortress must be taken as soon as possible. Our target isn't here. According to our intelligence, all the Middle Eastern fleets have gathered at Fort Slava. That is our real objective. If we can destroy the Middle Eastern fleet, then they will inevitably lose the war! So we must capture Grayle Fortress as quickly as possible!"
Zeke reminded him.
"Commander Magath, even if that's the case, what exactly should we do? Launch a direct assault?"
Magath stood up. After a moment of silence, he said,
"The Ministry of Defense has approved the Marley's Wrath Plan. Prepare as soon as possible."
Zeke raised his head when he heard this and looked at Magath. The latter's expression remained as resolute as ever.
"Marley's Wrath… I see." Zeke muttered to himself.
"Get a good rest tonight. By the way, Zeke, go bring back Airi and the Warrior candidates tomorrow."
"Understood."
Magath walked to the entrance of the tent, then stopped again.
"Also, the Ministry of Defense has sent word. Three other Marleyan Warriors are already on their way here. I hope you can capture Grayle Fortress before they arrive. Don't embarrass yourselves in front of the new Warriors."
New Marleyan Warriors?
These words shocked everyone inside the tent. Even the usually taciturn Newt froze. Then, as if realizing something, he unconsciously clenched his fists.
Although Zeke's face remained calm, his heart was actually in turmoil.
More new Titan Warriors had appeared? Three of them?
Including Airi, Porco, and Newt, that meant six intelligent Titans had appeared outside the Nine Titans. What exactly was going on?
This unknown power made Zeke feel that his euthanasia plan was facing an enormous threat. The current situation was becoming more and more uncontrollable. He had to obtain the Founder as soon as possible and complete the euthanasia plan quickly!
The intelligence sent by Yelena indicated that the situation on Paradis Island was currently progressing very smoothly. Therefore, the most urgent matter was to quickly free himself from Marley's restraints.
An escape plan rapidly took shape in Zeke's mind.
...
At the same time.
On a train heading toward the front lines, three new Marleyan Warriors were gathered together.
The blonde, blue-eyed Ivanor curiously held up a silver cup inlaid with a green stone and kept examining it.
"It's really beautiful, don't you think?"
Litt sneered disdainfully.
"Country bumpkin."
Ivanor put down the cup and walked over to Litt.
"What did you just say?" she asked quietly.
Litt raised his head and stared straight into Ivanor's eyes, saying word by word,
"Didn't hear me clearly? I said—you—are—an—ignorant—country! bumpkin!"
Whoosh!
The moment those words were spoken, the temperature inside the carriage seemed to drop by two degrees. Ivanor's expression turned cold. Creak… creak… The silver cup in her hand was instantly crushed into a flat lump of silver.
"You're insulting me? Want to fight?"
Litt stood up from his chair.
However, Ivanor not only had a fiery, curvy figure but was also extremely tall. Her height of 1.8 meters made Litt, who was less than 1.75 meters, look far less imposing in comparison.
Litt continued to mock her disdainfully.
"You act pretty tough, country bumpkin. But why weren't you so tough in front of that bastard Ebson? You were shaking like that back then. Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd wet your pants. Staring at me? Not convinced? Am I wrong? A bully who only dares pick on the weak!"
Litt's words clearly enraged Ivanor. Her whole body trembled with anger. Because of her figure, certain features on the front of her body were trembling as well.
Bazel, who had been watching the scene from the side, widened his eyes and exclaimed in amazement,
"So fierce!"