The backbone members of the Eldian Restorationists in the Third Regiment were gathered together by Serena, looking over the intelligence delivered by her subordinates regarding this Lieutenant Colonel Loya.
Obtaining this information wasn't difficult. As long as one was willing to spend some money, the staff officers at headquarters were more than happy to sell these bits of personal intelligence about their commanders to the Eldian troops. After all, the timid and trouble-averse Eldians all hoped to figure out their commander's temperament in advance.
Loya Russell, a Marleyan noble. The Russell family was a once-aristocratic house in Marley that had already fallen into decline, with few remaining members. This Loya seemed to be the last surviving heir of their family. His mother had died early; his father had been a lieutenant colonel in the Marleyan Guard Corps, but had died of illness ten years ago. According to Marleyan noble tradition, it was considered inheriting the father's position.
"A noble?" Serena was somewhat surprised. A noble—even a fallen one—was still a noble. Why would he come to such a dangerous frontline unit like theirs?
The report also included some information about the Russell family, but after reading it through, there was almost nothing of substance. It only mentioned that Loya had a blind grandmother as his only remaining relative. His father had a brother—Loya's uncle—but that uncle had disappeared in his youth. After more than a decade, he was likely never coming back.
After finishing the report, Serena made a quiet guess. Could it be that this Loya had offended some powerful noble and was therefore assigned to their Third Regiment? Judging from the information, Lieutenant Colonel Loya was merely an insignificant noble nobody.
Serena called over an Eldian soldier—the very one she had arranged to keep constant watch over Yago's every move. She questioned him in detail about Loya's actions over the past few days, but the answer left her utterly puzzled.
"You're saying that aside from eating, sleeping, and using the toilet, he's barely left his tent? He's been reading documents the whole time? And he speaks very politely?" Serena was stunned. What kind of move was that? He didn't flaunt his authority when he took office, and now he was acting like some idle slacker—what was going on?
It made Serena, who had originally been full of vigilance, feel like a deflated balloon.
The Eldian Restorationist core members beside her were equally baffled.
"This… is definitely beyond our expectations. So what do we do? Should we take him out?"
Serena shook her head. After thinking it over, she looked seriously at everyone present.
"That wouldn't be wise. If we kill this Marleyan officer, who's to say the Marleyans won't just send another one? Compared to the previous few Marleyan officers, this Loya is the easiest for us to control. This guy seems to be nothing more than a useless, cowardly noble.
We just need to keep him under surveillance. He can conveniently serve as our shield. Right now, what matters most is the development of our Restorationist movement."
Her amber pupils suddenly turned toward an Eldian soldier on her right.
"Wright, how's the situation in the Seventh Regiment?"
The named Wright froze for a moment, then lowered his head in shame.
"N-Not very smoothly. Those compatriots don't seem interested in the Restorationists at all. Some even became suspicious of my identity just because I mentioned the name. So far, we've developed fewer than fifty people in the Seventh Regiment."
"The Fifth Regiment isn't going well either…"
"The Sixth Regiment won't budge at all…"
"Huh? I thought the Ninth Regiment I'm in charge of was the hardest. How did it turn out that I've developed the most? The Ninth Regiment has about four hundred people showing interest…"
...…
Listening to her subordinates' chattering reports, Serena couldn't help but rub her brow.
Perhaps before, when she was with Jack and the others, she would have been excited about developing several thousand Restorationist members.
But ever since joining the Marleyan army, Serena had truly realized just what kind of behemoth Marley was. Compared to Marley's million-strong army, the few thousand Eldian Restorationist soldiers she had recruited were nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
To think of overthrowing Marley with such meager strength was nothing but a fool's dream.
While the Eldian Restorationists were arguing endlessly, a figure had already stopped outside the tent. The Eldian soldier on guard hadn't noticed that in the corner outside the tent stood a man with his arms crossed.
The Loya spoken of by the Restorationists—Yago—leaned against the side of the tent, listening to the argument within, and couldn't help but smile. As he had guessed, they really were Eldian Restorationists.
Yago had no interest whatsoever in their so-called Eldian Restoration plan. Over these past few days, he had already accomplished half of his objective—thoroughly understanding the structure and combat system of the Marleyan army through various materials. The remaining half concerned the new Titan created by Doctor Ebson.
But hearing Serena describe his identity as Loya as cowardly and useless made Yago somewhat displeased. He had merely been quietly acting as a studious, polite young man—how had that turned into a timid, trouble-averse noble in other people's mouths?
Silently, Yago left the spot and returned to his own tent, gathering a stack of documents. These were the materials he had organized over the past few days regarding the Marleyan army—something he believed would be helpful to Paradis Island.
After finishing all this, Yago decided to leave the camp. There was nothing for him to do here anyway. Stay and help the Marleyans fight the Middle Easterners? Or assist those Eldian Restorationists in overthrowing Marley? Neither seemed realistic.
But just as Yago finished packing, a sudden commotion erupted outside the camp, and the noise grew louder and louder. As Yago was wondering what was happening, an Eldian soldier suddenly burst in, panting heavily.
"C-Commander, this is bad! Captain Serena and the quartermaster—they've started fighting! Please hurry and take a look!"
"What? What's going on?" Yago was taken aback, but he quickly dressed properly and followed the Eldian soldier out of the tent toward the scene.
At this moment, dozens of supply trucks were parked outside the Third Regiment's camp. Yet the small pile of supplies stacked within the camp probably couldn't even fill a single truck.
Serena's amber eyes had turned slightly red with anger. In her hand, she was gripping the collar of a Marleyan officer.
The Marleyan officer she had seized had a face slick with grease, his once well-fitted uniform stretched tightly over his bloated frame. He was now furiously shouting at the Marleyan soldiers beside him to help pull this crazy woman away.
The Eldian soldiers of the Third Regiment were also desperately trying to restrain Serena. They couldn't afford to offend this obese Marleyan officer. He was the quartermaster in charge of logistical supplies for their frontline Eldian forces.
The weapons and ammunition, food and medicine the unit needed were all in his hands. If they offended him, these Eldian soldiers might end up attacking fortified Middle Eastern strongholds with empty stomachs and rifles without bullets.
When Yago arrived, this was the scene before him.
Serena, held back by three or four soldiers, struggled and shouted, while the greasy-faced Marleyan officer clutched his torn collar and raged in fury.
What was going on?