"The giants of the island... That's where it was born...", Hanji muttered, "Then the other side... It's the sea..."

"Let's go over there, Ymir." Ian heard the sound of the tide.

Ymir carried the crowd around the high platform.

As far as the eye can see, the sea is endless.

The sound of the tide is coming, the magnificent sea surface reflects the moonlight, the waves are sparkling, the salty sea breeze blows on the face, the waves wash the white foam, wave after wave, back and forth on the beach.

"A salt lake that a merchant can't get in his life," Alan muttered to himself.

These are the words that Armin reads in books, which write about the sea, about volcanoes, about all kinds of strange landscapes, which people who live in the walls cannot imagine.

And at this moment, the sea is right in front of Allen's eyes.

The group jumped off Ymir's back, like children, cautiously touching the water.

Hanji squatted down, licked a little seawater with his fingers, and shouted, "Gross, it's so salty!" ”

"Stupid! Beware of poisonous! Levi scolded, and couldn't help but take off his shoes as well, and his feet were submerged in the seawater, and he picked up a piece of conch, his eyes full of curiosity.

Ian spreads his arms and feels the sea breeze to the fullest.

This is the second time he has seen the sea, and if he only counts this life, it is the first time.

The vastness of the sea, no matter how many times he looks at it, will be shocked, and he will clearly perceive his insignificance.

Ymir stared silently at the sea, not knowing what was going on in her mind at the moment.

"On the other side of the sea... Is that Marlai—" Erwin calmly stared at the sea at the end.

The truth of the world, he has found.

Humanity is not extinct, and the giants have not eaten up all the humans outside the walls.

It's ironic to say that all the giants killed by the Survey Corps over the years are actually compatriots of the Eldians.

"Hannes, what do you think of Marlai?" Erwin asked Hannes beside him.

"Captain, I don't have any opinions." Hannes said indifferently: "I just, followed the guide to come here." ”

There didn't seem to be confusion in his eyes, he just kept waiting behind Ian.

"Ian, what do you think?" Elwin looked at Ian.

"Captain Erwin, why do you think Marais keep turning the Eldians into giants and dropping them on Paradis Island? Is it just because of discrimination? Ian and Erwin looked at each other.

Erwin was silent, as the commander of the Survey Corps, he could certainly quickly analyze the purpose of this exercise.

The Unsullied Giants regard humans as enemies, and according to Grisha Jaeger's notes, there is even such a thing as a "Giant Bomb" in Marais.

During the war, Marais used the Eldians as weapons.

The Marais use airships to transport the Eldians who triggered the law to the sky, inject them with potions, and then drop them as bombs, and the Eldians who have become giants will first bombard the enemy's city as the first wave, and the surviving giants will then slaughter the surrounding humans based on instinct.

The Marais, who use the Eldians as weapons.

In this way, it is a good explanation why they crossed the entire ocean and dropped giants on Paradis Island:

- To bind the Eldians within the walls.

On the other side of the sea is Marais, and the Marais are their enemies.

"The power of the giants, the armored giants, the giantesses, and the giants inherited by Ymir are already four of the seven giants that Marais possesses." Ian whispered, "The Marais rely on the power of giants to gain constant benefits in war, and the power of giants is a strategic resource for them. ”

"They sent the Four Giants to our land for only one purpose: they were not satisfied with the power of the Seven Giants, they were greedy enough to take away the power of the Ancestral Giants."

"As for why they want to take away the Ancestral Giants, there may be many reasons, maybe they feel that the Ancestral Giants will threaten their status as a great power, or maybe the weapons of the outside world have developed to the point where even the giants can fight against them, and they have to take the Ancestral Giants in order to meet the enemy."

"No matter what the reason, once the Marais take away the ancestor, then our fate will definitely become very miserable."

Erwin thought of Grisha's sister, the Eldians, who had no human rights at all in the territory of the Marais.

"On the other side of the sea... Is it the enemy?" Elwin sighed.

"Commander, are you willing to believe me?" Ian asked.

"Don't you think I don't believe in you enough?" Erwin said, "I've said a lot for you in the Giantess incident. ”

"It's not enough." Ian shook his head: "Marais has the science and technology that we can't reach now, but I have the means to defeat the enemies on the other side of the sea so that they don't dare to offend our land again, and for that, I need trust and help." ”

Ian held out his hand.

Erwin's ears echoed with the long sound of the tide, and he looked at the calloused right hand.

Ian's hands were very rough, with scars and burns in quite a few places, which were the hands of a twelve-year-old child.

He often worked in factories, staying up late was a common thing, and although he wielded a lot of power, it seemed to Elwin that he had never used it for his own benefit.

He did not live in a big house, did not hire young and beautiful maids, did not hold extravagant banquets, but worked harder and harder, and was covered with dust.

How can you tell if a person can be trusted?

Listen to rumors, by feeling, or... Look at what he's done.

Erwin counted in his heart what Ian had done, and in the end, it was the people of this land who benefited.

"I have a dream..."

It was a dream that glittered like gold.

Ian, did you really not lie to me that day?

But... Well, I have seen the truth of the world, and the road taken in the first half of my life is already very long, and it seems that it is not a bad thing to hear you talk about the future road.

Erwin let out a cloudy breath and gripped the gnarled right hand.

"May your dreams come true."

"Thank you." Ian smiled.

...

Before dawn, the crowd turned back and returned to the Higanshina district.

The outer door was successfully repaired, and in the early morning, the cement was finally set, and the giant could no longer break into the wall, and the source was cut off.

The restoration of the inner door, which was completed the next day, was the same as the outer door, with Allen as the main force.

On this day, Alan said that he had seen part of his father's memory, Dinah Flitze, and he described in detail the appearance of the royal giant, which was drawn by the painters in the team.

Supplies arrived on the fourth day of the Inner Gate repair, with food, ammunition, and a report on the number of giants cleared at the various outposts these days.

On the way back from the expedition, Dina Frieze's portrait was distributed to various outposts and to four districts of the Rossi Wall.

On the eighth day of his return, Ian received special news.

In the Rosey Wall, the Ubitya district is suspected to have found the portrait of a "smiling female giant with blond hair".