Back at it again with a new chapter, so things are starting to pick up now that he's training with Annie. Now we'll see Reiner in about 3 or 4 chapters, mainly cause I'm waiting for chapter 97. I do hope that the Marley Arc is over or we see an invasion from the Paradise island people on Liberio to free their fellow Eldians and possibly recruiting Reiner and Gabi. But we'll just gave to wait and see, but when I do Reiner's pov it'll be the events of the Marley chapters from returning to Liberio to where we are now. As usual drop a review. Let us begin.
The Declaration of War
It had been a very long and exhausting day for not only Annie but for Eren as well. Since her transformation 4 days ago Eren had been sparring with her titan each day under watch to ensure she doesn't run off. Though he has the highest confidence that she won't, he can't help but be a bit annoyed that some aren't trusting her any better. One such person was Mikasa, who he hasn't spoken to since his harsh confession in the mess hall. And while he knows that it needed to be said, he still feels a tingle of pity for her.
He rose after another brutal fight, this time it was focusing on hardening multiple parts of his body at the same time without becoming trapped. Annie was particularly helpful in this, since she could do it with her crystallization. Now while Eren did know how to effectively create hardened fists and shins, Annie was trying an idea she had come up with when speaking about his ability with Hange.
Anne had been curious about creating weapons with Eren's hardened skin or her own crystal, after all she'd was able to create sharp spikes for fingers that had used in Stohess to climb. Was it possible for both of them to make some sort of projectile that they could use for attacking targets at a far distance? From the information Annie was providing them on Marley's military power or lack of, they heavily relied on the power of the nine Titans.
If He or Annie could use these armored spikes as throwng knives or a similar concept such as spears, they could possibly take down Marley's defenses and weapons without being in fear of injury. Eren and the others who survived the retaking of Shinganshina heard the reports of the Beast Titans deadly pitching ability which slaughtered nearly every scout aside from the 104th, and thought of giving the enemy a taste of their own medicine when they made landfall. After Eren healed up again, he would be testing Annie and Hange's idea out with scattered and long distance targets.
Annie was actually enjoying herself at the moment, though she was still regenerating a torn left hand. Though she had won the fight by skill, Eren's ferocity in hand to hand had improved. She had been in slight awe as he recalled nearly beating Reiner in their very first encounter as Titans by using her stratedgy in chokeholds and pinning moves. If he could keep up the progress she's seen in these last few days in this form, Marley would have no defense at all in the form of shifters. That and Eren's ability to effectively use the Founding Titan at possibly it's peak form practically assured them victory on that front. Now they would just need a chance, to get acros the ocean somehow, and free their fellow Eldians with the truth.
Now as to how they would execute such an attack was debated about with the best and most feasible of plans. While many were shot down, the people of Paradise had 3 effective options that were still debated about in regards of which to use. The first was to tear down one of the walls, possibly Rose and have Sina's Titans reform once Eren commanded them to move and harden again. This would give them the forces of potentially a hundred Colassal Titans in addition to Armin as their main weapons. They would walk or swim through the ocean to the mainland and be set loose on Marley while Eren freed those in Liberio.
The second option that was a little more grey morality wise, as it involved using the mindless Titans of Paradise. Annie had told the Paradisians about how when she first started the mission, that Marley sent a group of ships from their army to hunker down at the full moon once a month at the shore. Now since they learned about the truth they had seen no signs of any boats of any sort, which prompted that they couldn't use that as a means of transportation to Marley.
However if they did reappear Eren and his fellow shifters would capture and kill most of the army and take their boats. Once they were all aquainted with the mechanics, He would control and order mindless Titans into the boats cargo bays and keep them hidden until they reached the shore. Once they made landfall they would be set loose as a distraction while again Eren freed Liberio and returned to Paradise while leaving the mindless to consume their foes. The third option was much much riskier.
It involved using the same plan of stealing Marley's naval and using them to get back in secret. Eren, Armin and Annie would infiltrate Liberio and Marley's armies by posing as oppressed Eldians used in their forces. This plan was met with the hottest debate because it involved risking all three of their shifter warriors including their most powerful in the enemies territory. There were both positives to this plan that were matched by heavy negatives if it were to go sour.
The plan was immediately refused by Mikasa, Sasha and Connie, but surprisingly defended by Armin and Jean. Annie and Eren had neautal throughts on the plan, mainly because they weren't sure whether or not they could or should attempt it. From the memories Armin received from Bertoldt as well as what Eren told him, Reiner was still possibly a potential ally. At first Eren and Annie had opposed the option, but as Armin pointed out his hesitations and actions from Bert's mind, he was starting to persuade them into giving it a chance.
But there was a heavy hole in their plans for anything involving the third option that Annie bring to the table. They still had no informationabout the Warhamner Titan. Despite being from Liberio and part of the warrior program, Annie herself knew nothing about the mysterious 9nth Titan that the Teiber family held in their possession. It also made Armin suspicious when she told them about how this the family was treated different, not being made to live in the Ghettos, but actually in mansions and wealth.
It also showed how angry she was at them, because from what her father told her growing up, they were the ones who incited rebellion against the Eldians and against King Fritz. Which ultimately drove him to leave for Paradise after they gave 4 of the powers to the Marley. This fact also made Eren very mad when he began to question Annie on what she knew of them, only to find out she had next to nothing on the family. She was able to provide an important detail however, when she first came here to seek out the total family, the information she and her fellow warriors received came from them. How had they known about the royal family most likely being puppets after not seeing them for a hundred years? Things began to grow more suspicious in Armin's head about there being no reason as to why they were considered special enough to be left alone in Marley's eyes.
'Is the power of the Warhammer possibly stronger than that of the Founding titan, or the Colassal or even the Attack Titan? Why would they also not raise an arm against Marleys enemy nation's, but not rebel against their masters either? Was it possibly they play a heavy role in the politics of their government, their military?' Such questions constantly probed Armin's mind as he tried to come up with possibe hypotheses and answers to them. It was one of the reasons he himself was wary of infiltrating Liberio, especially if they weren't careful about how they did it.
If they were to be caught in enemy lands, the only hope and plan they could use was to have Eren give the Eldians there the knowledge of their people and cause a full scale rebellion. Armin himself could crush the forces that would be mobilized against him tearing down Liberio, and Annie would fight alongside Eren if Zeke or any of the other shifters appeared. But if they could recruit Reiner, they would have a better chance of forcing a surrender in the other shifters. Zeke would not and cannot be persuaded, Eren would never give him the chance after everything he's done, and everyone else fully agreed without a doubt that he must die, especially Connie for what he did to Ragako.
The other shifter warrior Annie mentioned, Pieck, was a little more open to talk about what to do with her. They hadn't much experience with her, aside from snatching Zeke and Reiner away and carting them to safety. It was Annie's words that made them consider recruiting or capturing her as well, as she had told them Pieck was the most mellow of all the warriors who were selected. She had seen and heard her comments about how complacent and peaceful the "Island Devils" were when they had the power to easily crush the world.
Such words back then made Annie consider recruiting her in her crusade for Eldian rebellion, but when Pieck had been denied taking part in the Paradise island mission, she couldn't say anything. The fear of being stopped from even getting the chance to retake the founding Titan and using it kept Annie silent in her own mission, though Marcel had been another potential ally. The problem was he was dead, and Ymir had been taken back. She was most likely dead too, and the Jaws titan under Marley rule
Thatnews hadn't been the most pleasant to deliver to Historia when the scouts had proposed their plans for war, though to their surprise, she took it quite well. No tears, no crying, but a sad resignation. It was a little unnerving to Annie seeing the once kind and overly sweet girl be even more apathtic than what she pretended to be when apart of the 104th cadet corps. But then again she had heard about war changing people, and knew it was true. After all she had the proof around her, and in her memories too.
Eren had grown mentally, Armin became more grim and calculating than he used to be. Historia had grown quite cold in some ways, but was still a goddess of a ruler. Reiner had created his own split mindset to overcome his guilt, and it was that torn side that they would count on if they went with the third option. So it prompted at her, did Monsters make war?
Or did War make monsters?