Failed Warriors and Undercurrents (Part One)

"Attention!" Two Soldiers in white Marley uniforms who had been standing loosely on the dock immediately stood at attention.

At that moment, a stern-faced Officer walked to the dock with his hands behind his back, which made the two Guards who had been slacking off earlier extremely nervous.

However, the Officer didn't seem to intend to punish them, which relieved the two Guards.

Magath stood silently by the dock, his mind still replaying the morning's meeting, Marshal Calvi's rare outburst of anger, and his loud questioning of why the Warrior Unit had failed time and again.

Magath didn't explain, he just kept his head down and remained silent. That's right, the Marley Central Command received intelligence from Zeke and his group that the Founding Titan's takeover plan had completely failed.

Not only have they lost the Jaw Titan, the Female Titan, and the Colossal Titan in succession, but this time even Marine Major Coris has fallen. Such a result is hard for the Marley high command to accept.

The naval Commander even verbally abused Magath's Warrior Unit, calling them trash. Coris was a naval Officer whom the Commander highly regarded, so Magath understood his anger.

Now, standing on the dock, Magath was there to welcome Zeke and his defeated Marley Warriors.

Just as Magath was pondering, a ship's horn sounded, and looking up, a warship gradually came into view.

With a satchel slung over his shoulder and a dejected look on his face, Reiner stepped off the deck and onto the Paradis Island, the home he had longed for countless times. But why did he feel no joy at all? Instead, he felt an inexplicable and intense sense of loss.

The once-mighty four-man Marley squad is now reduced to just himself...

Pieck kept his head down, but a closer look revealed a somewhat indifferent expression, as if he didn't care about the results. Of course, Pieck didn't show it.

Zeke was walking at the front, was the first to notice Magath. He quickly stepped forward, bowed his head, and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, Captain Magath, the Warrior Unit have let you and the country down. We are guilty!" Reiner and Pieck also bowed and apologized.

Seeing Zeke was even taller than him, bowing in apology, Magath sighed inwardly. These soldiers were all people he had personally trained, and their bond was already very strong. Even if Magath wanted to say something reprimanding, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

After a long silence, Magath simply turned around and said, "Zeke, come with me. Commander needs you to explain the details of the operation. Pieck, go back to the Military Camp. Reiner... hasn't been back for years. You're granted half a day's leave to go home, then return to the Military Camp." With that, Magath turned and left.

Reiner paused for a moment. Home? Yes, he had family. Reiner quickly bowed his head in thanks, "Thank you, Captain Magath!"

Zeke adjusted his glasses, glanced at Reiner, and then followed Magath.

Not far from the dock, a figure smoking slowly extinguished his cigarette, then turned and left.

In the Liberio Internment Zone, Reiner, wearing a red Armband, walked somewhat blankly toward home, surrounded by Eldians also wearing Armband, casting glances and whispering amongst themselves.

Bang! Ouch! A crashing sound and the scattering of bottles and jars.

Reiner looked up and realized that he had bumped into an Eldia girl wearing a light brown Armband. She looked not much older than Reiner, with beautiful amber eyes and a pretty face, but her complexion was a little pale.

The package the girl was holding fell to the ground, scattering many items, including several small bottles.

The girl frantically picked up her things, and Reiner squatted down and even helped her pick them up, apologizing as he did so. "I'm so sorry, it's my fault for not watching where I was going, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright... Hey! You're Honorary Marleyan?" The girl was about to say it was alright, but when she looked up, her amber eyes suddenly caught sight of the red Armband on Reiner's shoulder. Her expression tightened, and she hurriedly picked up her bag and left.

Reiner opened his mouth, but said nothing. He sighed and continued walking home.

The Eldia girl meandered through several Alley before cautiously scanning her surroundings before finally entering a small house.

Upon entering the small hut, one is immediately greeted by a pungent smell of medicine and a faint odor of blood.

"I'm back! I got the medicine!"

"Great, Selina, well done." A young man happily took the package from Selina's hands.

Selina ripped off the Armband from her shoulder, walked deeper into the house, opened the back door, and found herself in a fairly spacious backyard where many people lay wounded, some with minor injuries and others with bandages wrapped around their necks.

These were the core members of the Eldia Restorationists, and also the last resistance organization of the Eldians.

Selina walked up to a man who had lost his sight, and the man seemed to notice her.

"Jack, the news seems to be true. The Marley Warrior Unit's operation on the island failed. I ran into a Marley Warriors today, I think he was one of the Armored Titan," Selina said.

Upon hearing this, the blind Jack struggled to sit up. "Really? The Marleyan have suffered a great loss this time. It seems the strength of our own kind on that island is beyond our expectations. Perhaps..."

Selina interrupted Jack, "What are you thinking about? The situation is most critical right now. Someone must have leaked our operation plan, otherwise Landon wouldn't have so many Soldiers around him, and we wouldn't have sacrificed so many friends!"

Jack's expression darkened, and he said, "Indeed, this defeat has dealt a devastating blow to our entire Restorationists, but who betrayed us?"

Selina narrowed her eyes, a hint of murderous intent flashing in her amber pupils. "It must be that Ebson! How could a Marley Nobility genuinely help us?"

Jack: "No! Selina, you're too young to know how much Mr. Ebson helped us Restorationists. That's impossible!"

Selina countered, "So you think it was our own comrades who betrayed us?"

Jack was stunned. Indeed, he couldn't believe that his comrade-in-arms, with whom he had spent so much time, would betray him.

Selina sneered, a murderous glint flashing across her beautiful face, and said decisively, "I'll go back to see Ebson tomorrow. If he really betrayed us, I'll kill him myself! If I don't return by tomorrow, get the children out of their hands immediately."

Jack for a moment, and it seemed that this was the only way. "Selina, be careful..."