Chapter 136: Floch Lands, Marley's Magical Girl Recruitment Propaganda?
Marleyan Continent, remote coastline.
The cold, rainy wind battered the reefs. The roar of the surf was a dull, constant thunder. Floch and his small team of Jaegerists had landed on this unknown shore.
"Team One, scout the left-flank ridge. Team Two, infiltrate the right-flank river valley. Primary objective: insertion and observation. Avoid all unnecessary contact. Report any anomalies by signal."
The two scout teams acknowledged the order and vanished into the dark inland. Their target was the small town of "Rockefeller," several kilometers away.
…
Hours later, the sky began to lighten, and the rain tapered off.
"Sentry post at the town entrance, two Marleyan soldiers on duty. They're equipped with a standard-issue rifle we've never seen before. We didn't get close, observed from maximum range. They're on high alert, regular patrols."
One of the scouts unfolded a damp piece of paper, covered in rough charcoal sketches. "We found this near a derelict shed by the town. Also, we observed a lot of wooden poles in town connected by cables, stretching far into the distance, no end in sight. The dirt road inland has deep ruts, looks like heavy vehicle traffic. Found some crushed black chunks, smell pungent, like fuel."
Telephone poles. Hard-line communication. Old-style trucks or other internal combustion vehicles. Eren had described all of this to them. Now, through their comrades' eyes and physical evidence, it was all real. The scouts hadn't directly engaged, but just from a distance, the enemy's equipment and guard post discipline gave them a preliminary feel for the strength of the Marleyan military system.
"Good." Floch took the tattered piece of newspaper. "Record every detail. Soldier's equipment, sentry layout, cable direction, tire tracks. Every piece of information could be a part of the puzzle that is Paradis's understanding of the world. We can't afford any negligence!"
The team set up a temporary base in a natural cave high on a cliff, concealed by vegetation and a narrow opening. Inside, it was relatively dry. Floch spread out their map of the surrounding terrain and added the new intel.
"Marleyan society is far more organized and stringent than we anticipated," he said, pointing to Rockefeller. "A small border town like this is so heavily guarded and has infrastructure we don't understand. One can only imagine their major cities inland."
He looked up, his sharp gaze sweeping over his team. "Remember, from the moment we set foot on this land, Eren entrusted this mission to us. This is his absolute faith in the Jaegerists. Every accurate piece of intel we bring back could one day save countless comrades. No failures allowed."
The soldiers in the cave looked grim, nodding heavily.
…
After several days of latent observation and rest, the team had recovered some of their strength. Floch decided to push deeper inland. Their new target: the outskirts of the medium-sized port city of "Nordhafen."
To avoid patrols and checkpoints on the main roads, they followed an old, abandoned railway line. The tracks were rusty, the roadbed collapsed in many places, but the general path was still clear. The night was their only ally.
As they marched, a dull, rhythmic roar sounded in the distance. A piercing beam of light tore through the darkness, approaching fast.
"Cover!!" Floch hissed.
The team reacted instantly, diving into the deep, grassy ditches beside the railway embankment, holding their breath.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE… The deafening sound of metal on metal shook the ground. A train, a black steel dragon of countless cars, roared past on the tracks not far from their hiding spot, spewing hot white steam. Soft light shone from its windows, revealing comfortable-looking seats and blurry figures inside.
A train. Its thunderous speed and massive transport capacity was a huge shock to the soldiers from Paradis.
"Is—is that the 'train' Eren talked about?" a young soldier whispered. "How many times faster is that than our quickest horse?" Their prized horses… a child's toy compared to this steel beast.
…
They finally reached the edge of Nordhafen, only for the sight in the night sky to plunge them into an even deeper despair. Several massive objects were hovering in the sky, larger than any flying thing they could have conceived of. They rose from a brightly lit, heavily guarded area in the distance, or patrolled the city, casting giant shadows. Searchlights swept over their cold, smooth, massive hulls.
Airships.
Eren had described them on many nights, his voice heavy. Marley's symbol of aerial dominance, used for long-range bombing and mass troop transport. They had used them countless times to drop Pure Titans into enemy cities. The sight of them, flying so freely, filled every Jaegerist with a suffocating pressure.
"So those… are airships…"
In the city, a spider's web of black electrical wires ran along buildings and streets, into every corner. A tall building in the distance was brightly lit, its "Imperial Central Telegraph Office" sign faintly visible.
Floch suppressed the shock in his heart and ordered his men to take out their charcoal and limited paper. They sketched the structures of the train and airships as best they could, noting every feature and guessing at their purpose. A heavy sense of crisis washed over them.
In the Nordhafen port district, it was still brightly lit and bustling, even late at night. Giant cranes moved under searchlights, loading and unloading tons of cargo onto massive ocean-going vessels. Floch's team infiltrated an abandoned warehouse roof on the outskirts, giving them a perfect view of most of the port.
At the deep-water docks, several heavily armored steel warships were berthed. On the shore, massive concrete coastal defense cannons stood guard. Looking further inland, they saw a sprawling complex of massive factories, their tall chimneys tirelessly spewing thick, acrid industrial smoke into the night sky. The industrial heart that powered Marley's war machine.
So this is the Marleyan Empire Eren spoke of. Compared to this, Paradis Island was a primitive village. The gap… was too vast.
A powerful sense of mission, mixed with this sense of crisis, burned in every Jaegerist. They had to bring this all back. This cruel truth.
…
While trying to infiltrate closer to the city center, they passed the public square of a small transit town at dawn, the mist still lingering. On a giant bulletin board in the center of the square, an incredibly large, brightly colored propaganda poster instantly caught their attention, and that of the hidden Jaegerist team.
The subject was a young Eldian woman, her face fair, her posture proud. She wore a gorgeous, military-style battle skirt, and held a magnificent, glowing magical staff, pointing heroically into the distance. Her smile was brilliant and confident, extremely infectious. In the background, an enemy position burned, and the Marleyan flag rose high through the smoke.
Next to the image, a slogan was written in huge, inflammatory artistic font:
"FOR THE GLORY OF MARLEY! ANSWER THE EMPIRE'S CALL!"
"BECOME A MAGICAL GIRL, PROTECTOR OF THE HOMELAND!"
"YOU ARE THE NEXT MIRACLE TO LIGHT THE EMPIRE'S FUTURE!"
And in the very bottom corner, a small but clear logo: a simple, red-eyed, long-eared white creature. The image of Kyubey.
"Magical Girl…?" Floch's heart sank. He had heard this ominous term from Eren many times in private. Eren had told him that if they ran into trouble, he could try calling for Kyubey, and it might appear and save him. Eren had also explained the price of becoming a Magical Girl.
Floch understood. Eren's honesty meant he was being treated as an expendable pawn. But he didn't care.