After Eren's introduction, the meeting proceeded without any issues.
Before arriving at the Trost District, all the squad leaders who were now in command already knew each other. After twelve days of marching, they had become familiar with one another thanks to mutual cooperation.
But it was the first time Eren appeared in front of everyone. To make sure the squad leaders would remember his face, they brought him a stool and seated him next to Gale during the meeting.
Little Eren's eyes sparkled, and his legs trembled uncontrollably under the table. He was probably repeating "attack, attack" over and over in his head, with a foolish expression on his face.
Just by looking at his face, one could guess what he was thinking.
Gale suddenly remembered having seen a chart somewhere, though he didn't know whether it was official or made by fans.
It recorded various attributes of the characters, such as intelligence, strength, and determination.
Due to the passage of time, Gale had almost forgotten everything, except for a few things that remained especially vivid in his memory.
If he remembered correctly, Eren only had three points in intelligence, while Sasha and Connie had four and five points respectively.
Historia's intelligence was also low, but still slightly higher than Eren's, with a value of four points.
Young Eren was the person with the lowest IQ on that chart, commonly referred to as: "Reckless."
Based on certain aspects of his performance in the original story, he undoubtedly deserved the title of "A wolf in sheep's clothing."
Compared to the future, the current Eren was somewhat foolish, someone who only thought about one thing at a time.
Not only was he like a single-celled organism, but also a complete idiot.
The meeting lasted approximately two hours, enough time to ensure that everyone understood the full plan and took note of all the points that required attention.
"Then, let's conclude the meeting," Erwin said after confirming that everyone understood.
Everyone gathered their notes, left the tent, and returned to their quarters to sleep.
Tonight was the last night within the walls, the last night of peaceful sleep.
The thought of entering Wall Maria's territory tomorrow to face the Titans weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
After all, no one had yet witnessed the true power of the Gatling machine gun in real combat.
They had no choice but to convince themselves that there would be no problems, that they would undoubtedly be able to kill all the Titans.
Eren and Gale left the tent together, and Eren suddenly placed his hands on the sides of his pants and gave a deep bow.
"Thank you, Gale. If it weren't for you, I definitely wouldn't be on the battlefield so soon. And… thank you as well for taking care of Mikasa and Armin."
"Aren't we friends?" Gale smiled and helped him up. "It's only natural."
"No…" Eren shook his head and said, "If it were just the three of us, we would probably still be farming in the pioneers' land, and maybe we wouldn't even have enough to eat. But you're different. I believe every plan you come up with is right, so I'll always support you."
"Look at the stars, Eren, do you feel uneasy?" Gale asked calmly and whispered, "Armin and Mikasa stayed in the capital. Aren't you worried you might never see them again?"
Eren shook his head and said, "The three of us are useless. I can still transform into a Titan, but Mikasa and Armin have no talent. They should stay in the rear, safe."
"No talent…?" Gale looked toward the capital and said, "It's hard to say."
Gale gave Eren a mysterious smile, waved goodbye, and said, "I'm going to sleep. You should rest too, Eren. Remember to wake up early tomorrow and go to the city wall to check the real effectiveness of the Gatling machine gun in combat."
"I will, good night!"
As Gale listened to Eren's farewell, the stubborn faces of Mikasa and Armin appeared before his eyes.
"The conditions in the Training Corps are very harsh. Are you sure you want to go?"
"Yes, we're going. We don't want you and Eren to leave us behind again. Mikasa and I want to be useful, at least to be together on the battlefield!"
"Who wants to be left behind? When you have firm faith in your heart, your potential is limitless."
Mikasa, Armin—Gale believed that these two would provide tremendous help in just a few years.
They were like uncut gems; they only needed a bit of polishing to keep them from going astray.
He had thought about it even before meeting them—they were the original reason he decided to meet Eren despite his fears that Eren might consider him an enemy.
…
The next day, at 6:00 AM, on the outer wall of Trost District. The sky was overcast, and a light drizzle was falling.
Gale, covered with a rain tarp, stood atop the fifty-meter-high city wall, looking down.
Although it was raining, the view was very clear, with an endless plain outside the city walls, covered in weeds.
The scarcity of vegetation suggested that there had once been a road leading out from the city gate.
But now, that road had been deserted for nearly a year, overgrown with wild plants.
Gale stood by the wall, observing the strange lifeform: a Titan.
There were three Titans within his field of vision.
At six o'clock, the sun had not fully risen, and it was raining, so the light was dim.
Titans that could not receive sunlight were slow to react. They could only move at full energy during the day, but at night, they remained inactive.
The reason for acting at six o'clock was that visibility at that time was sufficient to clearly see the giants, while they had not yet received enough light to regain their mobility.
The three Titans Gale saw were lying on the grass. He could only see their bare backs, with rainwater running down their spines.
The Titans' heads were pressed against the ground, as if in pilgrimage, with their napes exposed and completely unprotected.
It was hard to imagine how a Titan could regenerate after having its limbs severed.
Although they might appear to be creatures of flesh and blood, they were fundamentally different.
Gale believed they were similar to elemental lifeforms from certain fantasy works, as they possessed a vital "core" that could continuously regenerate as long as that "core" remained intact.
"All Eldians possess this potential…" Gale looked at the palm of his hand; he too was an Eldian.
From the city wall came the creaking sound of wooden wheels.
Workers were using wooden pulley cranes to transport the horses of the Scout Regiment outside the wall.
The first vanguard unit was Levi's squad, the strongest human force, leading the elite soldiers of the Scout Regiment as they cleared the way for the expedition.
Levi, mounted on his horse, turned his head and asked, "I'll ask once more—are you all ready?"
"You're in exceptionally good form today, Captain!" Eld Jinn drew his twin blades.
"Can you stop exaggerating?" Petra patted the horse's neck and said, "This is a real battle."
"Prepare yourselves and move out," Levi said coldly. "Remember this order—everyone must return alive."
Levi took a deep breath and roared from the depths of his lungs: "Advance!!!"
They pulled on the reins, the sound of hooves echoing across the plain, as a dozen scouts charged forward under Levi's command.
Startled by the presence of horses and humans, the Titan slowly raised its head.
With a slicing sound, the hook embedded itself into its flesh.
The omni-directional mobility gear propelled Levi's figure through the air as he forcefully swung his twin blades downward, inflicting wounds.
The flesh of the nape fell to the ground, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
The Titan's massive body collapsed onto the grass, releasing white steam.