The Sea-Diving Titan, the Crimson Flame Titan, and the Claw Titan—the three newest Titan Warriors of the Marleyan Warrior unit. This was the intelligence Yago had gathered from Airi Ambers.
As for how they became Titans, Airi Ambers had only vaguely said that they were chosen by the Marleyans.
When it came to the details of the transformation process, she avoided the topic entirely. It was obvious she either didn't want to say—or someone had forbidden her from saying it.
Combining that with what he had experienced at the Louis family manor, Yago was certain that the creator of these Titan powers was Ebson.
But the biggest problem now was that Yago had no idea how many intelligent Titan powers that lunatic Ebson could create.
Just imagine it—if thousands upon thousands of intelligent Titans really appeared, what kind of consequences would that bring to this world?
At the very least, humanity's living space would be endlessly compressed.
And whether these artificial Titans were bound by the thirteen-year lifespan limit was another question entirely.
Yago sat upright on the hill behind the military camp, his brows tightly furrowed.
...
Another issue was how to deal with the Warrior candidates who had arrived at the Third Regiment today. These children, trained and brainwashed by Marley, had undoubtedly been instilled with absolute loyalty to Marley. For Paradis Island, they would be a massive threat in the future.
From certain perspectives, eliminating these candidates outright might be the fastest and most convenient solution.
But thinking about the brainwashing of the Marleyan Warriors just now, Yago was suddenly a little stunned.
Because looking at the current Marleyan Warriors… well… they all seemed to have a bit of a rebellious streak—or were just kind of useless.
The Beast Titan Zeke—no need to say more, a top-tier actor.
The Armored Titan Reiner—perhaps "Marley's paper shield" suited him better.
The Jaw Titan Marcel—gone just like that. His younger brother Porco seemed like nothing more than a hotheaded fool.
The Female Titan Annie—well, let's not talk about Annie.
The War Hammer Titan Lara Tybur—the hammer she delivered was pretty useful.
The Colossal Titan Bertholdt—still frozen.
After thinking it over, Yago felt a bit inflated. The Marleyan Warrior unit didn't seem like much after all.
But as soon as he thought about those artificial Titans, he immediately deflated again.
This needed long-term planning.
As for those Warrior candidates, Yago decided to let them remain in the Third Regiment for now.
He could observe them first. If those children truly posed a threat to Paradis Island, then he wouldn't care whether they were children or not. Yago had no intention of risking his comrades' lives for the sake of a few kids. The memory of Sasha's sacrifice from older Eren's memories was still stabbing at his nerves.
For now, having sorted out his thoughts, Yago stood up and prepared to return to the camp.
...
When he reached halfway down the hill, Yago keenly caught the sound of quiet sobbing.
What's going on?
Carefully approaching, he saw a figure sitting beside a withered tree, hugging her knees.
Large teardrops streamed from her amber-colored eyes, and her body trembled from time to time with suppressed sobs.
Serena?
Why had she come here? And crying so heartbreakingly at that?
Yago was a little curious. Before this, Serena had carried herself like a leader figure. When she had argued with the quartermaster Bagge, she had been fiercely domineering. Besides, she was a member of the Eldian Restorationists.
At this moment, Serena clutched a crumpled letter in her hand, stained with many teardrops.
Yes. After her capable assistant Bray had been betrayed and forced to commit suicide, Serena had once again received devastating news.
In Marley's capital, Jack of the Eldian Restorationists had sacrificed himself while trying to rescue the families of Restorationists and many other members.
The final spark of the Eldian Restorationists had nearly been extinguished.
Upon receiving the news, Serena could no longer hold herself together—especially after learning that Jack had died. She felt as though she had lost the pillar supporting her world.
To Serena, Jack was not merely a senior figure. He had been like half a father to her.
Her parents had been betrayed by the Beast Titan Zeke and arrested along with most of the Eldian Restorationists. Serena had been only four or five years old at the time, left an orphan. It was Jack who had taken care of her ever since.
Now, Jack was dead.
Only then did Serena realize that the entire burden of the Restorationists had fallen onto her shoulders—because now she was the most senior member left.
The one who had sent her the message was a surviving member of the Eldian Restorationists.
In the letter, he said that a young man from Paradis Island had helped them. The remaining Restorationists and the families they had rescued would all be sent to Paradis Island, where their compatriots lived.
Paradis Island.
Serena knew of that place. Wasn't it the so-called lost paradise where Marley exiled Eldians?
The Eldians on that island were labeled as true devils by Marley. Would they even accept members of the Eldian Restorationists?
Overwhelmed by psychological pressure, Serena couldn't think clearly. As the most senior remaining member, she had no one she could confide in.
So she had come alone to the desolate back hill to vent her emotions.
She couldn't let her subordinates see her in such a vulnerable state.
"Jack… I… what should I do? What… what should our Eldian Restorationists do? Sob… sob…"
From Serena's broken words, Yago roughly understood what had happened.
He fell silent.
The Eldian Restorationists had nothing to do with him. Their goal of overthrowing Marley and restoring the Eldian Empire held no appeal in Yago's eyes.
But looking at Serena's lonely back, he remained silent.
With the old-guard Restorationists gone, the current Eldian Restorationists were mostly young soldiers developed by Serena herself.
Compared to the stubborn insistence of the older members on overthrowing Marley and rebuilding the Eldian Empire, perhaps the minds of the younger generation were easier to change.
Which meant—
Perhaps their ideology could be redirected.
Instead of clinging to the unrealistic goal of restoring the Eldian Empire, they could be guided toward revitalizing Paradis Island.
At that thought, a bold idea suddenly surfaced in Yago's mind.
Could he recruit these Eldian Restorationists?
And once he did, the influence the Eldian Restorationists held within the Marleyan military could be utilized by him.
That… was an enormous temptation.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed.
Yago turned his gaze toward Serena.
"We're all Eldians. Helping each other is only natural, isn't it? Reviving Paradis Island… isn't that more or less the same as reviving the Eldian Empire? We're all Eldians…"
Murmuring to himself, Yago stepped closer to Serena.
"Ha. Who am I kidding? I'm the Fate Titan. I'm doing this for Paradis Island—for the Eldians. You can't call that trickery."
Yago successfully convinced himself. He was going to trick—no, persuade—these Eldian Restorationists into joining the camp of Paradis Island.