Inside Gale's office, the electric lights emitted a soft white glow, while moths fluttered around the lampshade, casting black shadows.
When the power plant was built, precise calculations were carried out to prove that the amount of muscle a Colossal Titan lost over the course of a day and night was exactly the same amount of muscle it regenerated thanks to exposure to sunlight during the day.
Therefore, even at night, the Colossal Titan continued supplying energy to the power plant.
Gale carefully read through the details of the Marleyan prisoners and selected the most cowardly among them.
"Look at this…" Gale muttered without raising his eyes as he extended his hand toward the woman in front of him.
It was Zeke's profile.
Dina Fritz, seated before him, took the file.
Zeke's existence could not be hidden from that woman.
When using the power of the Founding Titan, both she and Eren had to be present, and she was also capable of entering the Coordinate.
"He is my son…" Dina murmured with a trace of sorrow.
As expected of Zeke's biological mother, even though Zeke had transformed into that bearded old man, Dina still recognized him as her son when they sealed the Titan powers of Zeke and Pieck.
"Tomorrow, a meeting will be arranged between Zeke and Miss Dina," Gale said as he looked into her eyes before pointing out, "However, although he is your son, he is still an Eldian fighting for Marley, an honorary citizen who earned his status as a warrior. You will not be allowed much contact for the time being, and I hope you understand that."
"I understand…" Dina replied, nodding with a complicated expression. "Actually, my lover and I were exiled to Paradis Island because Zeke reported us…"
"But I do not blame him. Grisha and I were the ones who failed to give him love or care about his feelings. When he was a child, we only raised him as a tool for the Restorationists, which ultimately led to that tragedy."
"I only want to meet him as his mother, and I will not reveal anything that must remain secret."
"Miss Dina, we have known each other for four years, and I have always considered you a good friend," Gale said kindly as he poured tea for Dina. "However, we must follow rules and regulations. Your meeting will take place in the visiting room, and someone will be watching at all times."
"If either of you makes a mistake, or if you make the wrong choice, rest assured that there are more people with royal blood on the island. Unfortunately, we are all replaceable." Gale spoke without sounding particularly threatening.
However, he made it clear to Dina that if she decided to help Zeke for any reason, he would kill them both.
"Alright, I understand. I am leaving, I am tired." Dina did not seem interested in drinking tea.
"Very well, get some rest." Gale raised his hand.
The soldiers accompanying her escorted Dina back to her room so she could rest.
"In that case… Marley will not dare attack us again." Behind Gale, the silent Eren suddenly spoke.
"Those people should already understand the difference in strength. We made it clear to them, and now that they lack the power of the Titans, they will not even be capable of sustaining their other wars."
"But if they still desire to attack us, we will be ready to respond with brutality." Gale lightly shook his head.
"I will kill them all."
Eren was still too young and simplified things too much.
Perhaps Marley would not dare to act, but there was more than one Marley in this world.
In the original timeline, although the main power behind Paradis Island was the Tybur family, the true rulers of Marley, the Tybur family allied themselves with several countries around the world, forming the World Alliance.
They united in order to invade Paradis Island.
The world feared the Titans and the "Rumbling," so declaring war on Paradis Island could be seen as a way for Marley to divert attention away from its internal conflicts.
Marley had practically lost all of its Titan power.
Even if they intensified the use of "Titan weapons" manufactured by Eldians within the controlled zones, they would probably still suffer defeat in the next war.
Marley, currently under attack by the Middle Eastern Allied Forces, had not had time to do anything regarding Paradis Island during this period.
After their defeat, it was likely that a series of unequal treaties would be signed, causing the country to lose its status as a hegemonic power.
But afterward, the accumulated contradictions within the country would push the Marleyans to take other measures, and they would undoubtedly use Paradis Island as a shield.
War was inevitable; there was no way to avoid it.
Only through war could other countries truly witness the consequences of war.
No matter how sophisticated or advanced your weapons were, they were useless if there was no war.
Humans were like that; they would not shed a tear until they saw the coffin.
Moreover, war was not something that could be started or stopped at will. When war erupted, it signified that numerous complex reasons and contradictions had made it impossible to maintain internal balance.
"If we want to achieve peace and put an end to war, we must create a more balanced and stable situation," Gale thought with regret.
Paradis Island would always remain a difficult battlefield.
The military strength of Paradis Island had undoubtedly been greatly reinforced.
Thanks to Titan-powered technology, their factories had become world leaders in every aspect.
Tanks, aircraft, battleships... their factories could rapidly produce weapons of war, but manpower remained a major issue.
Although they had managed to win over the populations of two other small countries devastated by Marley during the past two years, their total population still did not exceed one million.
Out of that million people, only around 300,000 were men fit for combat.
And out of those 300,000, after subtracting logistical support troops, at most only 100,000 soldiers were actually capable of fighting on the battlefield.
According to the information obtained from these prisoners, Marley possessed a land army of one million men.
The Marleyan army was organized into divisions, each composed of approximately 20,000 men, for a total of fifty divisions.
In addition, they possessed three naval fleets consisting of 21 battleships. Including smaller armored vessels, their fleet numbered at least one hundred warships.
Even without the power of the Titans, Marley was undoubtedly a powerful nation.
The fact that the Middle Eastern Allied Forces dared to fight against Marley, which also possessed the power of the Titans, only proved that the Middle Eastern coalition had even more powerful troops and weapons.
However, the Middle Eastern Allied Forces were not friends of Paradis Island; they were also enemies, and even more troublesome than Marley.
Even with the help of Titan technology, no matter how much they developed equipment and weapons, they had already reached their limits.
Over the past two years, thanks to the port city they established in Isfar, they had continuously traded with the outside world using the island's special resources.
Even the iceburst stones had appeared on the international market as a source of energy.
However, the time they had for development was still far too short. Even if they continued working on tanks, aircraft, and battleships, there would not be any significant breakthroughs.
Gale could not push future development forward by himself.
Population, highly skilled talent, qualified workers... these were things that required decades to gradually accumulate.
Paradis Island did not have much time. If Marley was defeated within two or three years, Paradis Island would undoubtedly be next.
After all, the inhuman "power of the Titans" hated by people all over the world had been stolen by the "devils."
"I am exhausted…" Gale sighed, and before long, he fell into a deep sleep.
This was a dream Gale had been having for an entire year, and only now had he managed to convince a man to teach him everything he knew about building a nuclear bomb.
His name was…
"J. Robert Oppenheimer…"