Buzz—The piercing ringing left Gabi's mind blank. The sharp smell of gunpowder filled her nose, her body felt indescribably uncomfortable, and her stomach churned violently.
Staggering, she grabbed onto the trench in front of her. Finally unable to hold it back, Gabi bent over and vomited violently.
Shell after shell slammed into the position, and the shockwaves from the explosions sent dust billowing across the entire battlefield.
Commander Magath lay at the edge of the trench, holding a pair of binoculars as he carefully observed the battlefield. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Gabi's condition, but he paid it no mind. The battle was at a stalemate—there was no time to worry about a mere Warrior candidate.
Fort Slava was like a barrel stuffed with explosives. Marley had merely struck a match to ignite it completely. The resulting explosion was unprecedented—calling the Battle of Fort Slava anything less than a massive meat grinder would be an understatement. It was ruthlessly harvesting the lives of both Marleyans and Middle Easterners.
From the front-line positions of the Marleyan army to the base of Fort Slava, less than two kilometers away, there was no longer a single patch of intact ground. Shells from both sides had "washed" over the land again and again. If the war ended this autumn, the farmers here would surely be delighted—no need to plow the land themselves. The weeds and pests buried in the soil had all been blasted into dust. Truly a perfect place for farming—so long as one ignored the countless fragments and gunpowder mixed into the earth.
Fort Slava—this was the Middle Easterners' final stronghold, and also the last obstacle Marley had to overcome to claim victory. Both sides were fighting with bloodshot eyes. Marley launched attacks regardless of cost, while the Middle Easterners defended with their lives.
After several days of fierce assault, Marley had left behind more than twenty thousand corpses. The Middle Easterners had also paid a heavy price. With the stalemate dragging on, Marley, desperate for victory, was preparing to unleash its trump card.
Commander Magath carefully scanned every direction of the battlefield through his binoculars.
The Marleyan Warriors had already infiltrated their designated positions. Under the cover of various firepower, they stood ready, waiting. All that remained was a signal—and once it came, they would deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.
And that signal was not far off.
Magath raised his head and looked up at the sky.
The drifting white clouds made him squint slightly. For a moment, they seemed blurred, like sails. Though the sunlight was blinding, when Marley's airship fleet came into view, the horn of the Middle Easterners' demise would sound.
"Gabi, you don't look well. Do you want to rest for a bit?" Commander Magath lowered his binoculars and said calmly.
Gabi's face was pale, but she still raised her head and forced herself to respond:
"Commander Magath! I'm fine—just a bit shaken by the explosions earlier."
Magath nodded and said nothing more, lifting his binoculars again to observe the battlefield. There could be no mistakes in the Warriors' operation.
Seeing that Commander Magath was no longer paying attention to her, Gabi let out a quiet sigh of relief. But when she thought about what she had heard yesterday, her heart twisted in conflict. She discreetly glanced at Falco and Udo on the other side.
Falco and Udo were following Colt, helping transport ammunition for the other soldiers.
"What should I do…? Th-That would be betraying Marley! Why? Damn it!" Gabi irritably tore off her helmet and threw it to the ground.
On the other side, Falco noticed Gabi's outburst. However, his expression toward her was complicated. He couldn't forgive her stubborn decision to abandon her comrades before—but seeing how depressed she had been these past few days, even if he didn't say it out loud, he still felt a trace of reluctance in his heart.
...
Serena stared at the two unfamiliar girls beside Yago in shock. Where did girls even come from in a military camp? Especially the blonde one—though her expression remained unchanged, one of her hands was secretly twisting Yago's lower back like wringing a rope.
"No wonder… Yago, why didn't you mention in your reports that your subordinates are this beautiful? No wonder you've been so out of contact—you've been having quite the fun, haven't you?" The one pinching Yago's waist was naturally Annie, who had crossed the sea to get here. As she twisted his flesh, she whispered in his ear with a tone full of jealousy.
However, Annie's appearance had changed drastically. Aside from her light blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair, she looked like a completely different person. Her face had become round, and her mouth flatter—clearly Yago's handiwork. To prevent Annie from being recognized, Yago had used the power of the War Hammer Titan to "slightly" alter her appearance.
And it had to be said—the power of the War Hammer Titan was incredibly useful. Like kneading clay, Yago could freely mold the white hardened material.
During the process, Yago even experienced a strange kind of joy known as "face sculpting," and he became completely absorbed in it—pinching and reshaping Annie's face into all sorts of bizarre forms.
In the end, it was only to avoid Annie's "Iron Fist of Love" that Yago reluctantly stopped. The result was her current appearance—her originally delicate oval face had been turned into something resembling a small round biscuit.
It could be said that even Mr. Leonhart standing in front of her might not recognize his own daughter. Meanwhile, A-One on the side was laughing so hard she could barely stand. However, she didn't get to laugh for long—for safety, Yago also gave her a face shape with a chin sharp enough to "kill someone." Now neither of them could mock the other.
Just as Annie was about to team up with A-One for a double assault, Serena happened to walk in carrying documents to report.
The moment Serena entered the tent and saw the two beside Yago, she froze.
What was going on? Where did these girls come from? And why did their faces look so strange?
When Annie saw Serena, she also froze. It took her a while to recover. Turning her head, she saw that Yago was still grinning like an idiot—her anger immediately flared up, leading to the scene just now.
The sharp pain in his lower back made Yago's expression twist.
"H-Hey, A—uh, A-Annie, listen to me! It's not what you think—ah! Gently, gently! That hurts!!"
Serena decisively dropped the report in her hands, left behind a hurried:
"Sorry! For interrupting!"
—and quickly exited the tent.
As she walked away, Serena was utterly shocked.
She had never expected Yago to be this kind of person!
In broad daylight—one man, two women—and they were actually doing something like that?!
A chill ran down her spine. She casually stopped a nearby soldier and instructed:
"Officer Loya is handling something important in the tent. Do not let anyone approach. Understood?"
The soldier was puzzled, but still nodded. Orders from the boss lady were meant to be followed.
Serena cast one last glance at Yago's tent and muttered:
"Yago, you bastard… hurry up. Everyone's waiting for your orders."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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