Training, learning about the dreams and the sailing experience of the greatest pirate of all time.
Gale not only absorbed all the information that Jack offered him, but also formulated tactical questions to make the learning method deeper.
He knew from experience that the more he learned, the better his performance would be in his personal studies. In dreams, everything he was taught was learned by him in a very short time.
That strategy had taken him to places he never thought he would reach so quickly.
And that is why… one day later, they had arrived at their destination.
"We have finally arrived… at the Eastern Ocean region…" Hange stood on the deck, gazing at the continent in the distance.
"Ah, we've arrived." Erwin said without changing his expression.
The Navy One came to a stop, and in front of it, several armored warships were scattered.
Lacking maps and updated information about the outside world, they had advanced blindly and stumbled upon the vicinity of this unknown port.
Those dilapidated armored ships seemed to belong to the navy of some small country.
Although they tried to land in sparsely populated areas, they were still discovered, as the Navy One was highly visible at sea.
The enemy had bad intentions; they had already aimed their cannons at them, and someone was loading shells.
"They don't seem to have any intention of communicating." Hange scratched her head vigorously. "What should we do, Erwin? Have we gotten ourselves into a very delicate situation?"
"There is only one path left…" Gale's eyes turned cold.
"All personnel, prepare for battle." Erwin, as a battle-hardened commander, issued the order to the entire crew of the Navy One through the loudspeaker.
The entire operation of the Navy One had been entrusted to this brilliant commander, who was the supreme commander of combat operations.
Erwin used his telescope to observe the enemy's weaponry and troop numbers, and made a decision: to use the power of the Titans to capture the port.
"Zz… Be decisive. If you hesitate, all our dreams and hopes will sink with us." Erwin's voice reached every soldier.
Hannes and Mick climbed onto the deck.
At the same time, Hannes put on a pair of windproof goggles and equipped himself with an advanced Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear.
He was a soldier who had officially graduated from the Training Corps and completed all the training of the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear.
Although he did not rank within the top ten of his graduating class that year and was assigned to the Military Police Brigade, he still obtained a high score and was stationed in the Shiganshina Special District, where he became a squad leader of the Garrison troops.
In the past, Hannes was not a bad soldier overall, but he lacked the heart of a warrior.
"All personnel on deck, clear out! Give them enough space!" Erwin ordered after making the decision to attack.
Everyone dispersed, leaving only Mick and Hannes in the most central open area.
The two kept a safe distance, and Mick pulled out a knife and cut the palm of his hand.
Boom!
Amid a golden flash of lightning, Mick transformed into the Armored Titan, standing atop a forty-meter-long steel platform.
To support the Titan's weight, the first platform had been reinforced with hardened materials.
"They're attacking! The enemy is opening fire!"
The distant warships, as soon as they noticed the mysterious armored warship bearing a Black Wings flag—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The enemy opened fire and adjusted their cannons, aiming at the Navy One.
"Suppress enemy fire! Focus attacks on the deck!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The counterattack from the Navy One did not wait even before the Titans entered the battlefield.
Bursts of gunfire instantly lit up the sky, turning the sea into an intense battlefield.
Even if it was one against a large group of warships, the Navy One far surpassed the enemy's armament.
"Watch out!"
BOOM!!!
A few seconds later, a projectile traced an arc through the sky before crashing onto the deck of the warship.
At that moment, Mick, who had entered battle mode and transformed into the Armored Titan, bent down, grabbed Hannes with the palm of his hand, and just as they had trained before—threw him into the air!
Hannes glided through the air, unafraid of the sensation; it was simply a bit higher than when he used the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear.
The direction he was gliding matched the trajectory of the incoming artillery shells.
"For my land!"
"For my freedom!"
"Hannes, dedicate your heart!"
"Arghhhhhh!" Hannes, filled with adrenaline and intense pain, bit his hand midair.
In an instant, lightning roared through the clouds, and suddenly, enormous bones and flesh grew and spread across Hannes's body!
He transformed into the Colossal Titan, and all the cannonballs slammed against the flayed muscles of his limbs.
Scalding steam burst from the giant's body, and an imposing shadow engulfed the ships.
The sixty-meter-tall Colossal Titan crashed down like a meteor, unleashing a deluge of waves!
The waves crashed against the shore, striking the hull of the Navy One and causing the massive ship to rise and fall among the enormous swells.
At the same time, that stretch of sea turned into a terrifying sea of fire, and the enemy fleet was completely annihilated in this attack.
The power of the Titans is an overwhelming force in war.
The defenses here are simply incapable of withstanding them.
There are very few places in the world that can defend against Titans, as can be seen in the accounts of Reiner and Bertolt, who had already participated in several battles before arriving on Paradis Island.
Armored Titan, Jaw Titan, Colossal Titan, Female Titan…
Four honorary warriors of Marley, using the power of the Titans, destroyed three small countries, and even used the explosive power of the Colossal Titan to directly destroy a country's capital, leaving corpses scattered everywhere.
Thanks to the power of the Titans, they won battles and once again consolidated Marley's dominant position. However, during these wars, Marley also discovered the emergence of weapons capable of harming Titans.
During its century of warfare, Marley had made countless enemies. They knew that once the power of the Titans lost its advantage, they would be attacked by their adversaries.
That is why they ordered their warriors to land on the island and seize the power of the Founding Titan in order to face the entire world.
The Marleyan government never had good intentions.
They wanted to seize the Founding Titan simply to use the Rumbling and thus continue their global dominance.
Or rather, they were cornered. If they did not obtain the power of the Founding Titan, Marley would be destroyed by its enemies in a short time.
However, given the current global situation, Titans still remain an unparalleled force in warfare.
And even Marley has a way out—if everything goes wrong for them, they can redirect their enemies' power toward Paradis. That is why Gale never relaxed, because not only was he an enemy of Marley, all of Paradis was an enemy of the entire world.
"Fight… Fight… Fight…" Gale, in the command room, muttered these words as he clenched his hand upon seeing Hannes take the lead in the attack.
Hannes, controlling the Colossal Titan, emerged from the sea minutes later.
What he saw was a raging fire, charred corpses floating in the sea, and fragments of limbs and armored ships scattered everywhere.
Surprisingly, Hannes felt completely calm.
He had seen far more horrifying scenes: when a breach was opened in Wall Maria, his men, his acquaintances, his friends, were devoured alive by giants.
He had been so frightened that his legs trembled, and cowardly, he fled without being able to save the person he instinctively wanted to save.
But at that moment, he felt nothing.
When did it begin?
It seems it was that very day, with that same raging fire.
He defeated the Titans he once believed could never be defeated.
Yes, that day, with trembling hands, he drew the bowstring and, guided by instructions, fired the wooden arrow coated in burning grease.
It was a deafening roar that threatened to reshape the world. When he opened his eyes and saw the flames in the night sky, he felt something inside him change.
He was capable of doing it; if only he had followed the instructions, he could have corrected his mistake!
Meanwhile, on the deck of the Navy One—
Several small boats were launched into the sea; this was the first battle of the marines.
They had trained on the coast for three months and were already familiar with movement at sea.
Soon, they used pedals to steer the small boats through the sea of fire and headed toward the port.
"Not a single one will escape!" Levi ordered his squad.
This is a strict order: since they have used the power of the Titans, we must not allow the news to spread to the world.
This place is thousands of kilometers away from Malaysia.
If they manage to keep it a secret, they will be able to hide it from Malaysia for a long time.
After all, communication between countries is not very developed. Moreover, this is simply a war taking place in a remote port.
In an era where communication was so complicated, few people would pay attention to a small war occurring thousands of kilometers away.
No one who sees the Titans in this port can be allowed to leave.
Erwin's orders were to disguise the landing as a normal exchange of fire, allowing the presence of the Navy One, but without revealing that they came from Paradis Island—much less that they had used the power of the Titans.
At least not for now.