Chapter 419 - 419: Strategy

"My god, this scale is actually this huge? They're directly deploying two hundred thousand troops in a single battle?" Airi stared dumbfounded at the sand table before her. The mountains and rivers molded from clay looked vivid and lifelike, but what shocked her even more were the densely packed flags covering the entire map.

Every single flag might represent a force of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of soldiers. Through this simple sand table, even someone like Airi, who didn't understand warfare, could feel the murderous aura emanating from those flags. War had never been a joke, and casualties could never be represented by mere numbers.

Beside her, Yago leisurely held a handful of small flags. Red represented the Eldian forces, including the Revival Army and Paradis Island's New Army, while the blue flags represented the fifty thousand troops from the Eastern region nations.

However, the number of red and blue flags in Yago's hands was equal, meaning the Eldian forces also numbered fifty thousand. But the combined forces of the Revival Army and Paradis Island's New Army were close to one hundred fifty thousand. So where were the remaining hundred thousand troops?

As Yago inserted the flags one by one, he glanced at the dazed Airi beside him and let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

"Airi, you know that according to the original plan, you shouldn't have been here. I respect your choice, but do you really trust that woman?"

Hearing Yago's words, Airi hesitated for a moment.

Was Ivanor trustworthy?

Honestly, even Airi couldn't guarantee it. But when she thought about the time they spent together in Marley's Warrior Unit, combined with a certain feminine intuition, Airi still raised her head firmly and said:

"I can't be sure. But I believe you also understand, that relying solely on our strength, we're nowhere near enough to fight against the Far East army. Or rather, unless every other nation in the world unites together, the Far East army is practically invincible. At a time like this, any opportunity is worth fighting for, isn't it?"

Yago's hand paused slightly, a scarlet arc of electricity flashing through his eyes. He hesitated as though wanting to say something, but ultimately held back.

After a while, he finally replied:

"Alright. What you said makes sense. The place you're meeting them is Twilight Town?"

"That's right. The famous tourist attraction in the Middle East."

Airi nodded.

Yago immediately turned toward the sand table, quickly locating a tiny piece of land upon it. His exceptional eyesight allowed him to spot the tiny lettering instantly.

"Twilight Town…"

...

After Airi left, Yago finally finished placing all the flags in his hand.

Looking down from above, one would discover that both the Eldian and Eastern region armies had been positioned along the two flanks of the battlefield. At the center lay the primary battlefield between the Marleyan allied forces and the Far East army, a war zone stretching across half of the Middle East's territory and containing over a million soldiers.

Like two pieces of bread in a hamburger, with the juicy meat patty in the center.

What Yago was considering now was how to happily devour this delicious "hamburger."

Yago seemed entirely unconcerned about whether the troops under his command possessed the strength to consume this "hamburger."

As for why—

His gaze shifted toward one direction on the sand table.

Beyond the endless ocean in that direction stood an island feared by the world for a hundred years—the island of devils.

And upon that island truly existed the power of "devils."

Placing both hands on the sand table, Yago chuckled softly.

"The Rumbling is approaching."

...

Meanwhile, several warships cut through the waves as a fleet advanced forward.

On the deck of the leading battleship, the Yeager brothers lounged comfortably in reclining chairs, basking in the sunlight.

"Hey, Eren, isn't this a bit inappropriate? Everyone's busy dealing with the war, and you're just slacking off like this?" Armin, who hadn't appeared for quite some time, said helplessly while carrying a stack of documents.

However, upon hearing this, Eren merely turned over, opened his eyes to glance at Armin in military uniform, then comfortably closed them again.

"So what if I slack off a little? If that guy Yago screws up, won't I still have to clean everything up in the end? Armin, you should really stay beside Yago instead. That guy's the true king of slacking off. You've no idea how happily he lived back in Marley. Go lecture Yago for me, alright?"

Armin raised both hands in surrender.

"I give up on you guys. As long as you're happy. One of you is the Commander-in-Chief, the other's a Squad Leader. How would a tiny little strategist like me dare to manage you two?"

Eren nodded thoughtfully.

"That makes sense. Since Armin isn't the commander, doesn't that mean your rank's lower than mine? Go on then, Armin, pour me a cup of tea."

Armin directly ignored Eren's nonsense and carried the documents into the interior of the warship.

Eren merely smiled silently while watching Armin's departing figure.

Beside Eren, Zeke quietly stayed.

Youth truly was wonderful.

He himself only had two or three years left anyway, so he might as well enjoy life while he could. Cooperating with that little fox Yago was pure torment. In the end, the villain's role would probably fall onto him yet again.

Zeke already seemed able to foresee his miserable ending.

...

Inside his room, Armin placed down the documents and stretched lazily.

Then, with utmost care, he took out a well-preserved book from the nearby cabinet and gently opened it, staring at the words recorded upon the yellowed pages.

"Grandpa, I've already seen the ocean filled with endless salt, the boundless deserts, flowing flames, and lands frozen by ice and snow. Once the war ends, I'll travel across the entire world and record all its beautiful scenery into books so everyone can understand the world beyond the walls."

Armin spoke with an expression full of longing.

"Wow, Armin, is that your dream? It sounds amazing. Can I come along with you?"

A sweet voice suddenly rang out, startling Armin so badly that he hurriedly put the book away before raising his head toward the doorway.

Mina, with her twin ponytails, leaned against the doorframe smiling brightly at him.

For some reason, Armin's face instantly turned red, looking even more girlish than an actual girl. If Connie and Jean Kirstein were here, they would definitely mock him endlessly.

But in Mina's eyes, Armin looked unbelievably adorable right now.

...

"Our troops have all reached their designated positions according to plan. Everyone is requesting further orders."

A Revival Army officer respectfully handed the organized intelligence reports to Serena.

After reading through them, Serena nodded.

Walking out of the tent, she lifted her head to gaze at the azure sky.

"Now all we can do is wait for our Yago to successfully complete the plan. The Rumbling… when this legend truly appears before the world, will the future of us Eldians finally change?"

One hundred thousand Revival Army soldiers had already spread outward in a line formation centered around Hope District, splitting the Marley Empire into northern and southern halves.

Due to the previous war against the Middle East and this current world war against the Far East, nearly all military forces from northern Marley had been transferred away. The enormous northern territories of Marley were now pitifully lacking in troops.

In the eyes of the Revival Army, it was simply a gigantic piece of delicious meat.

And now, their plan was to force Marley into willingly offering up that enormous prize.

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