Whenever Armin felt troubled, he would go to Annie and pour out his heart. He confided in her about everything, from the attack on Marley to the news of the death of the Survey Corps.
Armin's thoughts drifted back to before they infiltrated Marley. At that time, Eren had not yet left the Survey Corps. They had been stationed by the sea, guarding against Marley's attacks. With Eren's Titan power, they had easily intercepted all the Marleyan ships heading to Paradis Island for investigation.
Commander Hange was also very excited and enthusiastic about these Marleyan visitors. Although Hange expressed a desire to sit down and talk.
However, these warriors, who had been indoctrinated with false beliefs by Marley, naturally would not submit to the "devils" on the island. Even with the threat of Eren's Titan power, they still prepared to attack the Survey Corps.
But at this very moment, a tall and thin young man with blonde hair defected from Marley and chose to join the Survey Corps. This person was Yelena.
Yelena suggested they all sit down, have some tea, and talk. Yelena's purpose for this visit was very clear: she was sent by Zeke to seek cooperation. Yelena first revealed Marley's powerful military strength to Hange, and Marley's advanced technological capabilities undoubtedly shocked Hange.
But this also made Hange question why Marley, with such formidable power, had not launched a full-scale formal attack on Paradis Island recently.
Yelena casually answered Hange's question, stating there were two main reasons. The first reason was the numerous Pure Titans lurking on Paradis Island.
Even for the Marleyan army, which possessed the latest equipment, they were a significant obstacle to landing troops. This was a policy Marley had implemented to confine the Eldians within the walls. Now, it had become a major defensive line that hindered the Marleyan army's attack and protected the Eldians. It was truly ironic.
The second reason was that Marley was currently at war with other countries and therefore had no time to deal with the situation on Paradis Island. The reason for the war was that the Survey Corps had successively defeated members of Marley's proud Warrior unit.
These included the Jaw Titan and the Beast Titan, and they had also seized the Colossal Titan and the Female Titan, two of Marley's primary weapons. Because Marley had intimidated various countries with its Titan power, it had made many enemies.
With the loss of these two Titan powers, Marley was naturally perceived as having a weakened military strength by the outside world, so various countries collectively turned their attention to Marley.
Hange then inquired about Yelena's identity. Yelena stated that she was originally a prisoner of war in Marley, conscripted by force, and lived a life of dullness and numbness. However, she was guided by a certain man, whom Marley and other countries called a devil: Zeke Yeager.
In Yelena's eyes, Zeke's imposing figure was like that of a god.
Yelena then declared to Commander Hange that she belonged to Zeke Yeager and their purpose was to liberate all Eldians.
Zeke Yeager's request was also very clear: he wanted to land on Paradis Island before his life ended and meet his half-brother Eren Yeager, who possessed the Founding Titan.
In exchange, he promised to guarantee the safety of Paradis Island, provide new technologies including weapons, and offer support in various aspects such as intelligence gathering on Marley.
All of this was to save the Eldians whose survival was threatened. However, the superior officers within the corps did not believe Zeke's supposed desperation. They completely rejected Zeke's proposal.
But according to Zeke, he had a secret plan to completely solve the survival problem of the Eldians. The indispensable conditions for realizing this secret plan were the Founding Titan and someone with royal blood. As long as these two conditions were met, Paradis Island could be saved.
However, Zeke stated that he would only reveal the specific details of the secret plan to the corps once the conditions for its realization were met. This undoubtedly further fueled dissatisfaction within the corps, and they all believed Zeke was deceiving them.
However, upon hearing this, Eren suddenly stood up, confirming that it was indeed true. Eren also recalled that the only time he successfully activated the Founding Titan's power was at the moment he came into contact with someone of royal blood.
That Titan was Dina Fritz, Eren's father Grisha's ex-wife. Eren had only managed to escape danger by activating the Founding Titan's power that day because he had accidentally come into contact with Dina, who had transformed into a Pure Titan.
This meant that Zeke, as Dina's son, might have figured out how to break the vow. The only way for Eldians to survive was to unleash the tens of thousands of Colossal Titans within the walls and level the world. Upon hearing this, Levi couldn't help but ask why Eren hadn't mentioned this before.
Eren replied that he was worried about Historia.
Eren believed that they could not endanger her by forcing her to become a Titan based on uncertain information.
Although Commander Hange was reluctant to admit it, to protect Paradis Island and the corps, they had to rely on the strength of these volunteers.
Thus, under the guise of false reports from the volunteers, the Survey Corps successfully eliminated all other survey ships. Meanwhile, the volunteers also transmitted Marley's knowledge and technology to Port Paradis.
The construction of Paradis Island's iron port also saw significant development as a result.
During this period, the group also met the chef Niccolo.
Niccolo, at heart, looked down on these "barbaric island devils." However, when he saw Sasha crying tears of joy after tasting his food, Niccolo was moved. For a chef, such praise from a diner was the greatest joy. This was also the first time everyone had tasted seafood.
Seeing Sasha eating so happily, Niccolo gradually let go of his prejudice against Eldians. This period was undoubtedly happy and leisurely, but all this peace was fleeting.
Armin wondered if there was another path they could have taken, one that might have saved Sasha's life. Armin thought he understood Eren better than the three of them, but now it seemed he increasingly didn't understand what Eren was thinking.
Eren had made up his mind, even if it meant standing alone. Regardless of whether everyone chose to help him or stand by and do nothing, the outcome would likely be the worst.
Just like when the walls were breached and everything was instantly taken from them, whether they were soldiers on the warships or ordinary citizens.
Looking at Annie's crystal, Armin truly wished that Annie could respond to his words.