Controversy in Marley
"Marshal, how... how is this possible? The Middle East... the Middle East actually lost?" A Marley Officer stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.
The not-so-spacious conference room was bustling with a large group of Marley Officer. These Officer were unclear about the reason for their urgent summons. Some speculated that it might be to take action against the Eldians entrenched in the capital, but the army was not yet fully assembled. Would it be too hasty to start a war now?
There are nearly a million Eldians in the Liberio Internment Zone in the Marley Capital. In addition, the Marley military previously enslaved the Eldians and forcibly conscripted large numbers of Eldians into the army during the war with the Middle East. As a result, the Eldians can now raise an army of 70,000 to 80,000 people at any time, and they are all Soldiers who have participated in real wars.
An army that has experienced war is certainly stronger and more combat-effective than an army that has not. Therefore, the Marley military's consistent stance is that it will not easily launch a war unless its army has an overwhelming numerical advantage.
But right now, the Marley Army has only amassed a little over 100,000 men. Are they really confident they can start a war with the Eldians? What is Marshal Magath thinking?
When a group of Marley Officer arrived at the Ministry of Defense conference room, they received shocking news: Lybass, the capital of the Middle Eastern Union, had fallen three days earlier, with nearly all 200,000 Middle Eastern Army wiped out and half of the Middle East lost.
When the Marley Officer first heard the news, their instinct was to think Marshal Magath was joking. But looking at Magath's serious and resolute face, they had no choice but to believe it.
A gray-haired Marley General frowned as he looked at the intelligence report Magath handed him, muttering, "How is this possible? Middle Easterners losing to Far East people? This is even more unbelievable than a sheep killing a tiger. The Far East people army isn't even as strong as the guerrillas who tried to rebel against Marley in the first place. How could they... uh! What's going on?"
The old general was extremely puzzled and confused. He had participated in wars with the Middle East in his youth and knew how formidable the Middle Easterners armies were. The recent war had confirmed this; Marley had achieved a Pyrrhic victory over the Middle East. But now, the Middle East had actually lost to the world-renowned weak nation of the Far East. What was this all about?
But after the old general carefully read through the intelligence, he was shocked: Blood Titan, walking armored Cannon, eerie green poison gas, short-barreled guns with terrifying firepower, and extremely fast small Airship... This, this is the Far East?
Today isn't April Fool's Day, so why are they playing jokes out of nowhere? Is what the intelligence report said just a story?
But Magath, sitting at the head of the conference table, knew this was no joke; it was genuine intelligence. The Marley were still basking in their past glory, oblivious to the fact that times had changed.
With his hands clasped together, Magath's face was extremely grim. His Marley Officer were rapidly relaying intelligence, followed by gasps of surprise and expressions of disbelief.
"Gentlemen, now you should all understand why I was in such a hurry to gather you all. We are facing a major problem: the Far East people are less than a hundred kilometers from our border." Magath stood up and said solemnly.
One Officer voiced his thoughts, "Marshal, it seems unnecessary for us to get involved in the wars in the Far East and the Middle East, right? Wouldn't it be better for us if the Middle East lost? After all, the Middle Easterners have always been eyeing us covetously."
The Officer's words resonated with many, but some objected, saying, "But have you considered the declaration of war that everyone laughed at before? The Far East declared war on the whole world. If the Far East is really as strong as the intelligence reports suggest, what should we do?"
Some people also noticed the mention of the Blood Titan in the intelligence report, and were utterly astonished. Isn't the use of Titan in warfare a characteristic of Marley? How come the Far East people are using Titan? How did they manage that? Are Eldians in that icy, snowy Far East?
"How could Far East people possibly control the Titan Power? Could it be that the Beast Titan's disappearance wasn't due to capture by the Eldians, but rather its escape to the Far East?" an Officer boldly speculated.
Magath rubbed his temples. Had this guy not read the intelligence carefully? The intelligence said that the strange green poison gas from the Far East people would turn Middle East Soldiers and Middle East who accidentally inhaled it into Blood Titan in a short time, causing them to go on a killing spree, before exploding and dissipating in about two hours.
"Put those aside for now. There's one crucial matter at hand. According to intelligence provided by the Middle Easterners, the various new weapons the Far East people are equipped with, even the Blood Titan, are all related to Marley. Now, the exiled Middle East government is demanding that we take responsibility for this, and the Middle Easterners are calling on the world to form an alliance with Palestine," Magath said gravely.
"What does it have to do with us? What business is it of ours? If we had that kind of strength, we wouldn't have lost to the Middle East in previous wars! What responsibility do we bear?" A young Marley Officer frowned, inwardly cursing the Middle Easterners for their shamelessness in throwing mud at him.
Magath sighed and tossed out several photos. "These are all related to Louis Armory. Yes, that Nobility, Ebson Louis."
The photos showed a variety of weapons that none of the men present had ever seen before; the menacing Iron Monster left the Marley Officer speechless.
An Officer suddenly grabbed a photograph, his face filled with astonishment, and shouted, "No! This can't be right! How could they possibly have aircraft? And have they even deployed them in combat? We at Slatoa Fortress are only in the research and development stage with this kind of weapon!"
The exclamating Officer came from Slatoa Fortress, the Airship base and Airship center of Marley. The old Officer, who had been immersed in the research and development of Airship for decades, was devastated to find that what he had been researching for more than ten years had suddenly been developed and deployed to the battlefield ahead of Officer. What was even more devastating was that the research of others seemed to be stronger and more complete than his own.
Magath, observing his subordinates' various reactions, sighed inwardly again. It seemed he wouldn't get any good advice anytime soon. Perhaps he should listen to other people's opinions. With that thought, Magath announced that the temporary meeting was adjourned, and all Officer should immediately return to study the intelligence. The meeting would resume in the evening.
After adjourning the meeting, Magath didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately ordering the Guard: "Prepare a military vehicle immediately and go to the villa where the Tybur family lives! Be quick!"
"Yes, Marshal!"