The outbreak of war: Dawn before the fighting
"The legendary the Rumbling? Is it really that terrifying?" In the conference room, the high-ranking generals from the Far East Countries remained silent in the face of this question.
Indeed, is the Rumbling terrifying? Needless to say, how could the destructive trampling of hundreds of thousands of Colossal Titan not be terrifying? Every general present knew this, yet they all remained silent, which made the Far East politician who had asked the question look embarrassed.
Where there are people, there will be conflicts. This saying applies everywhere. In today's world, if you ask which country is the most powerful, more than 90% of people will answer: the Far East!
That's right, it's that straightforward. Even enemies like Marley or the Middle East, who are currently fighting the Far East, would admit it. It's not shameful to admit the strength of an enemy. However, most people are probably used to seeing the powerful Far East as a single entity. They have all overlooked one point: the Far East has never been the name of a single country, but the name of a continent!
Leaving aside the opportunists who were vassals after the war, there were thirteen Far East countries that were truly supported and utilized by Ebson. It sounds like a lot, but the total population of these thirteen countries is only a little over seven million. Coupled with the extremely harsh and cold climate of the Far East, the army they cobbled together was no more than 300,000. Yet, it is this army of 300,000 that now makes the whole world tremble.
Interestingly, more than thirty countries are attending today's joint Far East Joint Military Conference. Why is that? The Far East is only so big; what's the reason for these extra dozen or so countries?
Aleksy, wrapped in a bearskin military uniform, sniffed and stared at the politicians in the front row with displeasure and even disgust. In the eyes of this pure Middle East general, these Far East people, dressed in fine suits and always wearing fake smiles, were not his kind at all. True Far East men were never such disgusting and hypocritical people!
In fact, the purpose of the Far East people holding this military conference was very simple: The Rumbling. The Eldians activated the Rumbling. The story the Marleyan told the representatives of various countries had come true. The Eldians really do have the Rumbling!
The Far East people aren't fools. Since the Rumbling is real, they naturally need to discuss how to deal with it. Even a fool could see that the Eldians' The Rumbling is aimed at the Hera Province. Do we still need to guess their purpose? Besides the Far East Army, what else is currently in the Hera Province?
So the purpose of the meeting was simple: whether or not to withdraw the hundreds of thousands of troops deployed in the Hera Province, after all, that was... the Rumbling.
"So what if the Rumbling? I just went to see it yesterday. It's densely packed. It's just scary to look at. Looking down from the fighter jet, what kind of Colossal Titan is that? It's not even as big as an ant!" a general shouted impatiently.
As mentioned earlier, where there are people, there will be conflicts. Naturally, when faced with the legendary the Rumbling, the powerful "Far East" Empire would have differing opinions. Some advocated retreat, while others advocated fighting!
And it wasn't just one or two people; half of the "Far East" high-ranking officials in the entire conference room were shouting that they were afraid of the Rumbling and that the Eldians were just clowns.
If any Marley or other Allied Forces representatives were here and heard the arrogant remarks of the Far East high command, they would be shocked, and might even think that the Far East people had gone mad. That's the Rumbling! Hundreds of thousands of Colossal Titan! There's no way anything in this world could stop the Rumbling!
The terrifying power of the Rumbling was witnessed by Marley and the rest of the Allied Forces nations. Its overwhelming, world-destroying force terrified the Allied Forces nations. In just one day, the Eldia delegation, which was originally at the bottom of the Allied Forces 'Command Headquarters, jumped directly to the top of the Pyramid.
Within two hours, as the representative of Paradis Island, Eldia Civilization had secretly received over twenty signals of goodwill from various countries. Although most of them were small, remote nations, this represented a signal—a signal that the Eldians were slowly standing up in the world.
However, while the Allied Forces feared the Eldians, the Far East people did not. Since the outbreak of the war, the Far East Army has been constantly at war, and its terrifying record and military strength have been crushing the nerves of the world's nations, while also wildly fueling the ambitions of certain high-ranking officials.
Ebson's name is legendary among the Far East's elite. A few years ago, even the most fanatical Far East people could not have believed that one person could make the Far East dominate the entire world. But Ebson did just that. He made the entire Far East rise, made the whole world tremble, and made the former world hegemon Marley, and the Middle East join forces against the Far East.
It can be said that without Ebson, there would be no Far East as it is today. For this reason, Ebson has become the uncrowned king de facto in the Far East people. Of course, to be specific, it should be the uncrowned king in the eyes of the Far East's top politicians.
It's pathetic that the Far East people, renowned for their stubbornness, resilience, and unyielding spirit for thousands of years, have now succumbed to the power of a foreign Marleyan. To traditional Far East generals like Aleksy, this is an utter disgrace. How can the men of the Far East tolerate a foreigner defecating on their heads?!
Unfortunately, no matter how angry Aleksy, a general like him could not control the future and decisions of the country, and the entire Far East became a tool in the hands of that foreigner with complete obedience.
Ebson even directly admitted to the Far East leadership, "Far East people? I don't care, as long as they're easy to use. World War? What's that? If you're afraid, I don't mind finding other countries to cooperate with, as long as it's enough to lure out that child." His words clearly admitted that he was using the Far East as a tool.
World War? In his eyes, it was merely to lure out a "child"? What kind of nonsense is this? Does he treat their Far East Army like a child's game? Declaring war on dozens of countries simultaneously just to draw out one person?
Aleksy angry he was about to vomit blood. Of course, at that time they did not know how powerful the Far East Army had become after being catalyzed by Ebson. Even now that they know, their anger towards Ebson has not diminished in the slightest, and has even intensified.
The politicians on the stage were still babbling on, but Aleksy's Temple were throbbing, his hairy face flushed red, clearly holding it in. He was furious; the politicians' words were nothing but farts to him, yet he had no choice but to sit there and listen. In the past, he would have cursed and left long ago, but today, Aleksy unexpectedly sat there the whole time, not uttering a single word despite being furious.
Aleksy's gaze would occasionally drift in one direction, towards which sat an elderly man with a white beard. He was the most senior man among the Far East Countries, and his name was Anthony Hoffman.