In 852, the war against Marais, led by the Middle East Union, entered a white-hot phase.

The Marais, who have dominated the world for many years, cannot accept the frequent defeats on the battlefield, and the domestic call for war is getting louder and louder.

Because of the large-scale use of "giant weapons" last year and the results achieved on the battlefield, they became more and more frantically denouncing the Eldians, degrading the Eldians as an inferior race, so as to send all the Eldians in the country to the battlefield and use them as consumables.

This approach, for a time, even made Marais blow the horn of a counteroffensive.

In the winter of 852, the northern border of Marais.

The cold wind howled, and the endless darkness shrouded the white snowfield.

Colt Grice leads his younger siblings on a walk through the snowy fields.

They wore large shoes made of straw and bamboo, with huge load-bearing surfaces that kept their legs from sinking into the deep snow.

With a snap, someone fell down due to lack of physical strength.

Colt stepped forward, and his brother Falco, joined forces with him to lift the man to his feet.

"Hold on a little longer, Jabi, and soon we'll be where Mr. Jik said."

Jabi didn't reply, she passed out.

In order to escape the Marais who captured the Eldians, they walked in the snow for three days and three nights.

They can't go through all the entrances, there are Malay troops who are in charge of testing.

The Marais have special means of detecting the identity of the Eldians.

All it takes is a drop of blood to be mixed with some kind of silvery liquid, and if it were an Eldian, it would have a violent reaction.

Once the identity of the Eldians is discovered, they will be captured by the Marais, and even if they are lucky enough to blend into the villages and towns, the local Marais are always on the lookout for those around them.

They had traveled all the way from Rebellio to the northern frontier through the wilderness and paths.

Everyone had become savages, their clothes in tatters, and if they hadn't all been trained in the warrior training camp, they would have died in the mouths of the beasts.

But at least they are still alive, and many more have died on the battlefield.

The Marais usually use airships to raid with "giant weapons", and after the battle, they themselves will clear the remaining giants, the Eldians, in this country, there is no way to live.

Colt gritted his teeth, took off his coat, and put it on Jabi's body.

Colt lifted Jabi on his back, and Falco helped carry Jabi's weight from behind, both of them with purple frozen lips and stiff limbs, struggling to walk.

In the darkness ahead, a light appeared.

Colt stopped, shielding his younger siblings behind him.

He was flustered, and although he knew that the probability of encountering the Marlay army here was low, he still couldn't stop being terrified.

But he didn't have the strength to run anymore, and just standing here exhausted all his strength.

"Is it Colt?" A familiar voice came from the darkness.

Colt blinked, and in the haze, he saw the man's face clearly, and the gloom on his face was finally swept away.

"Mr. Jike!" He was so moved that he wanted to cry.

Of all the "warriors", Colt has the best relationship with Captain Jik.

He was raised as the next heir of Jik Yageer, and it was supposed to be him who would inherit the Beast Giant.

But now, there is no such thing as inheritance or not, and Marais has lost all the giants of wisdom, and the words "warrior" and "honorary Marais" have become history.

The bearded Jike, who was wearing a thick military coat, put down the kerosene lamp in his hand, stepped forward, and hugged the unconscious Jabi on Colt's back.

"It's already close this way." Jike led a few men through the snow, and after a few minutes, arrived at a small cabin.

Jike kicked open the door of the cabin, opened a floor window on the ground, and led several people into a warm basement.

The basement is a lot of space, with dozens of people sitting in front of the fire to roast the fire.

Jike brought two basins of warm water and a thick military coat to warm up Colt and the others.

"These are the fleeing Eldians." Jike took the bread and gave it to Colt and Falco: "In three days, you will be sent abroad, don't worry, you will be safe here." ”

In the firelight, Jike's face looked extremely haggard.

"Mr. Jik. Have you been here to save the Eldians? "Colt hadn't seen Jike in over a year.

"That's the only thing I can do." Jike adds wood to the fire.

Opposite him, a woman was holding a baby, and the baby suddenly burst into tears.

The person next to him shook the woman: "Hey, wake up, wake up." ”

Jike frowned, stood up, put his fingers under the woman's nose, and took the woman's wrist.

"No, no breathing."

He picked up the baby, handed it to Colt to hold, and then carried the woman away alone, only to return ten minutes later.

"She fled to this neighborhood alone with her child." "When I found her, she was lying in the snow, and she curled up in her arms to protect her child, and I carried her and her baby back, and although she woke up once, she didn't survive in the end," said Jike, who came back, and although she woke up once, she did not survive in the end. ”

Colt looked at the baby in his arms with mixed feelings, and the child had been lulled to sleep by him.

"Dad and Mom, Falco's Mom and Dad and I were also captured by the Marley Army," Colt said hoarsely: "She is the only one in Jabi's family who escaped, where should we go?" Mr. Jike?"

"What really happened back then? Why did the Armored Giants and the Oversized Giants attack Marai? Colt looked at Jike: "Why did you and Sister Pique betray Marley?" If you want. If you don't betray Marlai! ”

"Calm down, Colt." Jike pushed his glasses.

Colt was silent for a moment, lowered his head, and said, "I'm sorry."

"Have you heard about Paradis Island?" Jike asked.

"I've heard a few things, and Marley said that the power of the giants was stolen by the demons on Paradis Island, and that we have to atone for what the demons have done."

"Atonement is just an excuse, among the countries participating in the war, only Marais has the method of making spinal fluid potions, Marais just wants to win this war with giants, as long as they face the situation of defeat, they will come up with all kinds of means to win."

"Is this the tragedy of our Eldians? Now, no country wants to accept us."

"The tragedy of the Eldians, Colt, I once had a wish to use the power of the Ancestors to incapacitate all the Eldians, and I named it the Euthanasia Project."

"Sounds like a great plan." Colt said, "If we had not been born, we would not have suffered this kind of suffering." ”

"But my mind changed because of a certain opportunity."

"Why?"

"One thing I realized is that the suffering of the Eldians is not because we were born, because two years ago, the Eldians were still living in the land of Marais, and although there were many regulations, they were basically able to live a normal life, but after two years, the situation completely changed."

"What do you mean, Mr. Jik?"

"Whether it's the Marais or the Eldians, there are good guys and bad guys among them, and it's only because Marais needs giant weapons on the battlefield that the Eldians suffer."

Jike pulled out a small red notebook from his bosom.

"In the past two years, I have seen some of the Malais help the Eldians, and I have also seen the Eldians survive by reporting their fellow citizens, the Malais civilians, also forced to go to war because of the demands of some people, and the same is true of the ordinary soldiers in the Middle East Coalition Army, who have to face death under the orders of some people, and we suffer because we, like some of the Marais, are the people who are exploited, not because we are the Eldians."

"I understand one thing now, in this world, no matter what nationality, there is a class that is ruled, and a class that rules others, where there is oppression, there is resistance, so I don't think the exploitation of the Eldians by the Marais is natural and reasonable."

"The euthanasia plan is wrong, in the past I thought that the Eldians would be willing to accept exploitation and oppression, and they would be able to show our goodness, but now I have come out of this trap that has been designed."

"Mr. Jik. These words. Did you come up with it yourself? Colt was shocked.

"It wasn't the people of Paradis Island who taught me that." "You will also be sent to the island of Palades, the country of the Eldians," said Jik in a deep voice. ”

Not anymore today

(End of chapter)