Hurriedly handing the letter of appointment to Yago, the Marleyan soldier immediately drove away from the camp without even looking back, as if staying a second longer would bring him bad luck.
Holding the letter of appointment, Yago walked into the military camp at an unhurried pace, clearly in no rush. As soon as he entered, he saw quite a few Eldian soldiers carrying rifles gradually closing in around him.
However, Yago did not think these people were here to welcome him. At the very least, he could not see anything friendly on their faces.
Yago simply stood where he was, expression calm. The gathered soldiers parted to make a narrow path, and a female soldier in a Marleyan uniform walked straight toward him.
A female soldier? That was rare.
Serena stepped in front of Yago and first sized him up. Seeing his overly youthful face, she felt slightly dazed—this guy might not even be twenty yet. What were the Marleyans thinking?
Dazed as she was, Serena still composed herself and extended her hand.
"You must be the new commander of the Third Regiment? I'm Serena, captain of the Vanguard Unit. The Third Regiment welcomes your arrival, sir."
As soon as those words were spoken, all the Eldian soldiers' eyes turned toward Yago in unison.
But Yago's next action was beyond their expectations. He naturally reached out to shake Serena's hand and said with a smile,
"Thank you all for the welcome. I'm Loya Russell—just call me Loya. There's no need for everyone to gather here, feel free to carry on. By the way, Captain Serena, is there a tent here for me to rest in?"
Yago's natural and gentle attitude surprised both Serena and the Eldian soldiers. Previously, even the most polite of the Third Regiment's former commanders had been full of contempt toward them, not even treating them as human. Of course, every one of those commanders had all "accidentally" died on the battlefield.
Serena could not tell whether this friendly attitude from Commander Loya was genuine or merely an act. After all, previous Marleyan commanders had always brought along a supervisory unit composed of Marleyans. Everyone knew the purpose of those supervisory units. But later, perhaps because the Third Regiment's reputation as a cursed unit had spread far and wide, or perhaps because it was truly treated as a cannon fodder unit, fewer and fewer Marleyans were willing to come here.
In fact, Yago's predecessor had been stuffed into this unit for fleeing the battlefield. The supervisory unit that came with him consisted of Marleyan soldiers who had committed minor offenses. Yet those men still carried themselves arrogantly, ordering the Eldian soldiers around as if they were superior. That lecherous commander had even harbored wicked thoughts toward Serena. Of course, on the battlefield the very next day, that commander was "accidentally" blown to pieces by the Middle Easterners, and the entire supervisory unit met the same fate.
And yet today's Commander Loya had arrived alone. Was this young officer simply timid and afraid of trouble? Serena did not know. She could only instruct a soldier to lead Yago to the commander's tent first.
While Serena felt puzzled by Yago's attitude, Yago was also secretly observing her. He had heard this name before—from Jack, the blind leader of the Eldian Restorationists. Before his death, Jack had spoken in fragments: the military… Serena…
Yago smiled.
The Eldian Restorationists? Interesting. Very interesting indeed. Yago had vaguely guessed Serena's identity, but he had no intention of getting involved. The Eldian Restorationists' goals were not the same as his.
After arriving at his own commander's tent, Yago casually flipped through some of the documents inside.
At the entrance of the tent, an Eldian soldier lurked furtively, spying on Yago. With his keen senses, Yago noticed the soldier immediately—but he could not be bothered to care.
...
Inside a brightly lit tent, several people sat quietly on chairs. This was the tent of the Marley Warrior Unit.
Inside, Porco and Reiner sat facing each other in silence. The Sea-Diving Titan Airi shrank quietly into a corner, hugging a bag of rations and nibbling at them in small bites.
The newly joined Crimson Flame Titan Newt Sam rested his hands against his forehead, his expression gloomy. No one knew what he had experienced, and no one noticed the hatred hidden in his eyes. Newt looked like a down-and-out middle-aged man, perhaps even quite a bit older than Zeke.
Seated at the head, naturally, was the Marleyan Warrior Chief—Zeke Yeager.
Zeke sat with one leg crossed over the other, holding a newspaper and reading it with great interest. When he saw the report about the train explosion in Rhine Province, the article's denunciation and outrage toward the Middle Easterners' brutal actions almost made him laugh.
At that moment, the sound of something massive running outside the tent suddenly mixed with the rumble of military vehicles. Zeke put down the newspaper, and the others straightened up as well. Airi hurriedly stuffed the rations into her oversized pocket.
The tent flap was abruptly thrown open. Magath, his face firm and resolute, led a group of people inside. Zeke immediately stood at attention and saluted.
"Captain Magath!"
Magath nodded, signaling everyone to sit. When Zeke saw the people behind Magath, he froze—especially the few children who looked like little radishes.
"Colt, Falco, Gabi… why are you here?" Zeke stared at the warrior candidates in front of him in astonishment, then turned to Magath, unable to understand why he had brought these children to the front lines.
Magath's adjutant, Koslow, answered Zeke's question.
"If warrior candidates wish to become Marley's warriors, then outstanding ability and absolute loyalty are indispensable. And what better place than the battlefield to prove those things?"
Zeke fell silent.
At that moment, Pieck entered the tent leaning on a cane. After transforming into a Titan for several consecutive months, she was temporarily unaccustomed to walking upright on two legs after returning to human form.
With Pieck's arrival, the Marley Warrior Unit was finally complete—including all the warrior candidates. Colt led the candidates to sit at the very back, listening to Magath's orders.
"The Ministry of National Defense has placed great expectations on our Warrior Unit. We are also the most crucial force in changing the course of the war. Zeke, as the Warrior Chief of the Marley Warrior Unit, your responsibility is the heaviest. I hope you will set the best example!"
Zeke stood up and declared loudly, "Rest assured, I will lead the Warrior Unit to fight for Marley in blood and fire!"
Magath nodded, then issued his orders. According to intelligence, the Middle Easterners had recently been building up strength in preparation for a counteroffensive. The Warrior Unit needed to fully cooperate with the Marleyan forces to crush their attack.
As for the arrangements for the warrior candidates, Magath had also made plans. Turning to Koslow, he said,
"The warrior candidates will be under your charge for now. I need to stay with the Warrior Unit. Don't go too far—they're still children."
Koslow nodded, but inwardly he disagreed with Magath's words. They were Eldians, after all. Even if they were warrior candidates, so what? Wasn't it all for Marley?
Koslow made up his mind. For the sake of Marley, he would assign these warrior candidates to the most dangerous frontline unit—so they could prove their loyalty to Marley.