Main camp tent, war council.
"Sit down first. Levi, your seat is over there." Erwin pointed to the right side of the table.
In the center of the tent stood a large square wooden table, where Hange, Gale, Aitor—the captain of the Gatling gunners—and many others were already seated.
Levi was one of the last to arrive. "Looks like I'm among the last."
"It doesn't matter, want one?" Gale extended his hand, holding a tray of cookies.
"No." Levi took his place to Erwin's right, next to Hange, while Gale and Erwin, as commanders, sat in the central positions.
After sitting down, Levi waited a few minutes until everyone had arrived, and only then did he notice Gale's new follower, Ymir, wondering what importance she held in this operation.
Unlike the other children who hadn't come, Eren was an exception, and with Gale as the central figure, it was essential for him to be here—but Ymir? What role did she play? It wasn't like Gale to do anything that didn't bring him some advantage, so Levi wondered to himself just how important Ymir really was.
"Alright, we're all here."
About sixty people attended the meeting in the tent, and together with the Survey Corps, the total number reached around six hundred.
They were divided into groups of ten, and the squad leaders were stationed in the tents.
"Today is the final meeting before entering Wall Maria. We will confirm the roles and distribution of the teams, as well as the meaning of flares and whistles for multi-person operations."
Once everyone had arrived, Hannes distributed a form to each person, detailing the team composition.
"Now, let us begin the sixth operational meeting of the recovery plan following the fall of Wall Maria."
Erwin struck the table, and the light of the oil lamp illuminated the tent. Everyone fell silent.
"Starting tomorrow, our formation will undergo a significant change. Please remember the team distribution diagram shown in the form."
"Once inside Wall Maria, we will begin using the anti-Titan Gatling machine guns. Tomorrow morning at 6:00, the Survey Corps will observe the movements of the Titans outside the wall from atop the wall."
"We will be responsible for eliminating any Titans near the walls using the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, or for luring them away."
"Once the area around the wall is secured, the city gates will be opened."
"Transport teams one through five are responsible for moving the Gatling machine guns to a cleared area to carry out the first phase of the cleansing operation. After completing the cleanup, we plan to begin relocation at 10:00 a.m."
"Starting tomorrow, the logistics team will move to the center of the formation, which will shift from a vertical arrangement to a fan-shaped one."
"Mounted reconnaissance soldiers will be deployed along the perimeter of the formation to conduct scouting. If a Titan is detected, a red flare will be fired and they will retreat."
"We must ensure that there are at least three Gatling machine guns in each of the eight directions. Therefore, the gunners and Gatling transport teams will move to the second ring of the formation."
"Upon seeing the red flare, the formation must stop immediately and prepare to fire the Gatling machine guns. From the moment the flare is fired until the Titan enters Gatling range, we will aim to allow between five and ten minutes of reaction time."
"Once the Titan has been eliminated, a green flare will be fired. When you see the green signal, you may move again." Erwin sketched a schematic flow diagram on the whiteboard Hange had brought.
"The distance from the Trost region to the Shiganshina region is a total of 130 kilometers."
"Starting from the outer gate of the Trost region, we will establish the first outpost. We will set up an outpost approximately every ten kilometers, leaving around thirty personnel and several Gatling machine guns at each for defense."
"In total, we will establish fifteen outposts as a battle line against the Titans."
"Supplies and additional Gatling machine guns will be transported from the Trost region, and each outpost will be responsible for forwarding them to the next."
"In addition to our initial 500 men, the Garrison troops and the Hawthorne Merchant Guild will continuously join the front lines to eliminate Titans within Wall Maria."
"As for the advance team, around eighty people will remain to carry out the extensive work of clearing and repairing the wall in the Shiganshina region."
"That is the general outline of the plan. We have already discussed the details in previous meetings. If you have any questions, feel free to ask now."
Erwin remained standing at the front of the table, observing the others.
Someone raised a hand. "Commander, I would like to ask—what should we do if we encounter an abnormal Titan?"
"That is what I am about to explain." Erwin turned around and looked at the crowd behind him. "Except for members of the Survey Corps, those who have seen a Titan, please raise your right hand."
The crowd exchanged confused looks, and eventually a handful of people raised their hands. They were from the frontier and had seen Titans from afar when Wall Maria fell.
"Please lower your hands," Erwin said after confirming his assumption, then pointed out, "It is clear that you do not understand Titans."
"However, I do not consider myself an expert on Titans, so next, Captain Hange, our Titan specialist, will explain."
Erwin stepped aside, nodded, and gestured for Hange to come forward.
"Hello everyone, I'm Hange." Hange smiled and waved. "I won't say much. Ordinary Titans pose no threat to us under Gatling fire, but Abnormal Titans are very special."
"The reason Abnormal Titans are distinguished from the others is that they exhibit unique characteristics that set them apart from ordinary Titans. For example, they can jump, climb trees, and when facing humans, they may display behavior resembling thought, acting according to the situation. Their next move cannot be predicted by simple patterns."
"In short, the threat level of abnormal types is higher than that of ordinary Titans, but fortunately, their numbers are small and they do not appear frequently."
"On open plains, we don't need to worry too much about abnormal types. The field of vision is wide, and we can detect them from far away. If we encounter one, we only need to add three to five inactive Gatling machine guns as reinforcement for firepower."
"Unless Titans develop wings and can fly, they will not pose a threat."
"The problem lies in mountainous areas and forests."
"Abnormal types may be hidden in blind spots and attack us suddenly. It would be troublesome if they get close before the Gatling machine guns are ready."
"To deal with this situation, we will reveal our secret weapon."
Hange looked at Hannes, who nodded, stepped out of the tent, and brought Eren inside.
"His name is Eren Yeager." Hange introduced him. "He is a secret weapon from government experiments—a human who can transform into a Titan, which means he is our ally."
"Eren Yeager can transform into a 15-meter Titan. His speed and strength are among the best of all Titans. If he encounters an Abnormal Titan in a confined area, he will transform into a Titan to neutralize it, buying us time to deploy our Gatling machine guns."
"Hello everyone, I'm Eren Yeager." Eren gave a slight bow.
Eren clenched his fists, his eyes burning with intense passion.
At last… at last, this day has come!
Fight, fight, fight!!!
I will drive out all the Titans!