Chapter 229 228

Off the northern coast of Paradis Island, aboard a Marleyan patrol ship—

Cold spray lashed against the steel hull as two Marleyan lieutenants leaned against the railing, bored and irritated. The sea was calm, the patrol far from the action of the Middle Eastern front, and the contempt written across their faces was unmistakable.

"Honestly… I don't know what the colonel is thinking," one lieutenant muttered, casting a disdainful glance toward the waters ahead. "Why are we patrolling this region again? Paradis Island? Those backward island devils? They can't even reach the shoreline with their primitive dirt and horses. And for a century, we've been dumping Pure Titans onto them. The place should be crawling with mindless monsters."

The other lieutenant stifled a laugh. "Keep your voice down. If the colonel hears you talking like that, you'll be mopping decks until you retire. Just think of this as a forced vacation. It's boring, but better than being shelled on the mainland."

"That's the problem," the first whispered sharply. "If we want real military credit—if we want promotions—we need to be on a battlefield! Not wasting our time patrolling a dead island. We're Marleyan officers. If we accumulate enough merits, we can move up, maybe even enter the upper corps."

He lowered his voice further.

"Unlike the Eldians. Those wretches can fight all they want—Marley will never give them real power."

His companion shot him a warning look. "Careful. Even Eldians have ears. And without their Titan abilities, Marley wouldn't be strong at all."

"You sound like Magath," the first scoffed. "Don't tell me you've started sympathizing with—"

A deafening whistle cut him off. Metal boots thundered across the deck as officers rushed out of the main cabin.

"What's going on?!"

"Did we strike something?!"

"Report! Someone give me a report!"

Before any explanation could come, the entire battleship lurched violently, as if gripped by an unseen force. Soldiers staggered, grabbing at the railing—others fell flat onto the deck.

"Brace yourselves!" an officer shouted, but it was too late.

A shadow rose beneath the waves.

Then another.

Then another.

A cluster of Pure Titans—dozens of them—pressed up against the battleship's underside like barnacles clinging to a rock. Their distorted faces scraped against the armor plating, their fingers clawing up along the hull.

The deck exploded into shouts.

"Why are there Titans in the sea?!"

"Impossible! Titans can't swim!"

"They're climbing— they're climbing up!"

The colonel himself burst onto the deck, breath ragged, eyes wide with disbelief. Standing at the railing, he stared down at the malformed heads bobbing in the water.

"This—this is—"

His words died on his tongue.

Because something even bigger rose next.

A massive pair of Titan arms—pale, muscular, dripping seawater—shot upward from the depths, gripping both sides of the battleship as if seizing a toy.

A soldier screamed.

The lieutenants who had been boasting moments earlier barely had time to look horrified before—

CRRRRUUUNCH—

The Titan's hands slammed shut.

The deck buckled under the crushing force. Steel folded like paper. Nearly one-third of the soldiers stationed topside were instantly flattened—crushed into unrecognizable smears between fingers as large as pillars.

The colonel, frozen in shock, could only whisper:

"Is that… the Colossal Titan…?"

He never finished the sentence.

The giant hand swept across the deck, and the colonel disappeared beneath its shadow—obliterated in a heartbeat.

More Titans scrambled aboard, dragging themselves over the railing like nightmarish fishermen hauling their catch. They pounced on the Marleyan soldiers, tearing limbs, snapping spines, feeding without thought.

The screaming didn't last long.

Within minutes, the entire Marleyan patrol unit—hundreds of trained soldiers—had been annihilated.

The warship, now unmanned, drifted erratically toward the coastline, pushed by sea currents and nudged by the very Titans that had slaughtered its crew.

On a concealed cliff overlooking the shoreline—

Lock and Erwin watched the scene unfold from above, their expressions grim yet steady.

"Looks like the plan was a complete success," Erwin murmured. "How ironic… Titans, the very monsters that nearly wiped out our people, are now our strongest weapon."

Lock's gaze remained fixed on the drifting warship, his face unreadable.

"Yes. Ironic… but also fate. Those Titans were once our own people. If they must be used as weapons, at the very least, let it be for our own survival—and our future."

Erwin offered a faint nod of agreement.

Lock exhaled slowly. "Come on. Let's get down there. Our first warship has arrived."

On the beach below—

Soldiers of the Survey Corps stood in stunned silence as the armored ship drifted closer, guided by an obedient ring of Pure Titans. Dozens of troopers gathered around Lock and Erwin as they descended the cliffside path.

The air buzzed with disbelief.

"That ship… It's huge!"

"Is this what the outside world uses?"

"How does something that heavy even float?"

"The Titans aren't attacking… they're actually following orders."

"Does that mean… the Titans aren't a threat to us anymore?"

Confusion. Awe. Fear. Hope.

It swirled together like the roaring waves.

Lock gave no explanations. None were needed—not yet. He simply let the sight of the colossal iron ship drifting toward their shore do the talking.

Facts would reshape hearts far faster than words.

The soldiers parted, giving Lock room as he stepped toward the waterline, cloak snapping behind him in the salty wind.

This drifting warship would be:

—the first naval vessel of Paradis Island,

—the foundation of its navy,

—the beginning of maritime power.

The Titans gave one final push, guiding the ship until its keel scraped the shallows. The metal giant settled there, towering over the beach, its hull glinting under the afternoon sun.

The soldiers erupted.

"Long live Paradis Island!"

"Long live Commander Lock!"

"Long live Commander Lock!"

"LONG LIVE COMMANDER LOCK!"

Their voices thundered across the shore.

Lock didn't smile, but his eyes sharpened with resolve.

This warship wasn't just steel.

It was a message.

To Marley.

To the outside world.

To every soul on Paradis Island.

Paradis would no longer be hunted.

Paradis would rise.

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