Reckless advance
Countless bullets rained down on the Third Regiment's position, and flying clods of dirt struck the Eldia Soldiers below the trenches.
The last three Fortress Nanbu of Grayle Fortress halted the advance of the Third Regiment. The seemingly endless firepower within the Fortress prevented the Eldia Soldiers from even surfacing.
"Let me go. I have the Titan Power and can cover everyone's attack," Aili volunteered to Yago.
But Yago shook his head and rejected her idea. To be honest, the current situation suited him perfectly. Why fight so desperately? Why be so eager to fight for the Marleyan? These last three Fortress could also serve as an excuse for Yago to appease the Marleyan. It wasn't that our army wasn't brave, but the enemy was too cunning. They were just holed up inside the Fortress. What could we do if we couldn't take them?
What can the Marleyan do if they're dissatisfied? The Third Regiment's achievement of capturing forty-one Fortress will definitely make those Marleyan look bad.
"Selina, tell everyone to be alert. We don't need to advance any further. We've been fighting for so long, it's time to relax," Yago called to Selina.
At first, Selina didn't understand Yago's meaning, but the clever Selina quickly figured out the hidden reason under Yago's hints, so how could she disagree? Thus, a secret order quickly spread among the Soldiers of the Eldia Third Regiment.
So far, Selina has successfully recruited all the Soldiers of the Third Regiment into the Eldia Revival Army, and the existence of Yago is known to all members of the Restoration Army. The goal of Eldia National Restoration has also resonated with everyone. Although Yago's identity has not yet been revealed, most members of the Restoration Army respect Yago no less than Selina does.
This indirectly gave Yago a highly loyal subordinate force numbering in the thousands, many times larger than the Survey Corps on Paradis Island.
In other words, Yago: Wow, I just wandered around the island a couple of times and I'm a Commander? A few thousand people and he dares to talk about reviving Eldia? If Yago had ten or twenty thousand people, would he dare to rule the world? Just kidding, don't take it seriously.
At this moment, the Middle East Soldiers inside the Fortress were already in despair. The dust billowing from the Marley Army's position was like a deadly demon, constantly approaching their last Fortress. When that dust finally reached them, it would be the end for the Middle East Fortress.
A loaded pistol lay on the table in front of the Middle East Officer. When the Marleyan attacked, he would use it to end his life. As for escape? He didn't even dare consider it. Losing the Fortress would mean facing Military Court, and certain death. Even if he managed to escape, what would happen to his family in the Middle East?
The Middle East Soldiers could only desperately and futilely fire Machine Gun, praying incessantly. Perhaps their prayers worked, for they discovered that the Marley Army had suddenly stopped advancing, and the entire position had become eerily silent.
This suddenly brought hope to the Middle East Soldiers. Upon hearing the news, the Middle East Officer disregarded their image and stuck their heads out of the Fortress, then burst into hysterical laughter.
While hope was rekindled among the Middle Easterners, the Soldiers of the Eldia Third Regiment were enjoying a leisurely time, nestled in the safety of their trenches, eating their not-so-delicious but filling rations, and occasionally discussing in hushed tones the goals of the Eldia Revival Army.
Although the Machine Gun and artillery roar from the Middle Easterners were somewhat jarring, one gets used to them after a while. In fact, the Eldia Soldiers were a little unaccustomed to the ceasefire after the Middle Easterners ceased fire.
At the very front lines, several Eldia Soldiers were drinking tea brewed from black tea bags. Although the quality was somewhat poor, it was a treatment they would have never dared to imagine before. Tea bags had always been the exclusive domain of the genuine Marley Army; how could the Eldia Forces possibly be entitled to such supplies?
After taking a sip of his black tea, a Soldiers whispered mysteriously to his Comrade, "Hey guys, I've heard a really... you know what's going on. Want to hear it?"
His Comrade immediately became interested and pressed him for details, "What rumor? Tell us!" "Tell us quickly!" "What rumor could there be? You're not trying to play a trick on us, are you?"
The Eldia Soldiers rolled his eyes. "Take it or leave it!"
"Listen, listen!" Amidst the jeers of his Comrade, the Eldia Soldiers blurted out the rumor he'd heard. "I've heard that Marley Lieutenant Colonel Loa, the commander of our Third Regiment, is none other than Norman, the leader of our Eldia Revival Army!"
"What!?" "No way!" "Really!? That's incredible!" Several Soldiers were stunned. Their Marley superior was the leader of their Eldia Revival Army? That sounded absurd.
However, these Soldiers had some different feelings in their hearts. If the rumors were true, it didn't seem unacceptable. Everyone had witnessed what Captain Loa had done in the first few days after taking office. He did not look down on any Eldia Soldiers, but instead stood up for them and upheld justice.
They even managed to procure better supplies and military provisions for them Marleyan, and they were so skilled at fighting against the Middle Easterners that their casualties in this attack on the Middle Easterners Fortress were almost negligible. Only a few unlucky Soldiers were injured or maimed by Middle Easterners artillery shells because they failed to take cover properly.
Upon hearing this rumor, the Eldia Soldiers fell silent, seemingly trying to gauge its credibility.
A stunned Eldia Soldiers stood there for a long time before picking up his lunchbox. Just as he was about to drink some red tea to calm himself down, a figure seemed to dart past him in a flash.
Caught off guard, the Soldiers's hand trembled, spilling scalding tea all over his trousers. But he didn't have time to clean it up; he quickly stood up to see what had happened.
Suddenly, a petite figure darted out of the trench and jumped into a shell crater on the battlefield between the Third Regiment Soldiers and the Middle East Fortress.
The Eldia Soldiers, his trousers soaked, stared wide-eyed at the shell crater and exclaimed, "It's a child!! It's that child from the Warrior Candidate corps! A child! Danger! Come back quickly!"
The craters left by the shells still reeked of gunpowder. Gabi, holding a bundle of Grenade, was panting, sweat beading on her nose, her body trembling slightly from tension, but her eyes revealed extreme excitement.
Only the last Fortress remains! The Middle Easterners only have their last Fortress left! Her chance to prove herself has arrived! Gabi is extremely confident. To become Warrior Candidate, she must have received a great deal of training. She is confident that she can throw the Grenade she is holding into the enemy's Fortress. When that happens, she will definitely amaze everyone!
Falco and Zofia also ran to the front trenches, but were stopped by several Eldia Soldiers; it was too dangerous ahead. As for Udo, he ran off to report the situation.
Falco, Zofia, and several Eldia Soldiers were frantically shouting for Gabi to return quickly, as the battlefield ahead was far too dangerous. But would Gabi, in her extremely frenzied state, actually come back?