The New Era Arrives: Giant World

Chapter 33 The Conquest of the Marleyan Empire

The remnants of the ancient Eldian Empire, hidden in the shadows, have reached their 145th generation. This generation's ancient emperor of Eldia has a group of loyal and trusted subordinates. Upon learning of the Marley Empire's operational plans, these men immediately reported them to the emperor. The reason the Marleyan rulers chose teenagers for this mission was that they believed children possessed strong deceptive qualities and could more easily infiltrate the target location. To achieve their objective, the Marleyan rulers conducted an extremely rigorous selection process both within their own country and within Eldia. All qualified children had to participate in a chaotic free-for-all; only those who survived this battle qualified for the next round of duels. This duel would continue until only eight survivors remained. These eight children would then compete again to determine the strongest among them as leader. This strongest child would gain certain authority, allowing them to command a portion of the Marleyan army during the treasure hunt. This forced the nine leaders of the remaining Eldian Empire to send their grandsons to compete for the eight Titans, simply because the Eldian people had suffered heavy losses in the wars, battles, and final clashes. Meanwhile, the confidants of the 145th Eldian Emperor devoted all their efforts to nurturing the children of the nine leaders, as well as the children of Grisha Yeager and Dina Fritz, to participate in the Marley Empire's conquest and defeat the other contestants to claim the eight Titans. Thus, a grand selection process was held within Marley by its rulers, and a similar process was also conducted within Eldia. Thus, the selection process for children from both the Marleyan Empire and Eldia involved rigorous tests: a 100-meter sprint, obstacle course navigating, weightlifting, valley climbing, weaponry, quick reflexes to quickly don and disassemble a complete set of weapons, survival skills in resource gathering, evading ambushes and assassinations, and careful consideration of the feasibility of planned actions and their own mortality rate before taking action. This forced participation eliminated a large portion of the Marleyan and Eldian children, leaving only a small group that passed the initial selection. This remaining group then underwent a free-for-all, further eliminating some. The remaining children, a small number of whom then advanced to other stages... After each duel, five people emerged from the duels within the Marleyan Empire, while five people emerged from the duels within Eldia, also under the control of the Marleyan Empire. The Marleyan Empire's leaders then returned to the Marleyan Empire with the five who had emerged from the duels, and arranged daily life for them. The Marleyan Empire's leaders and administrators then met and devised several detailed tests. They then had the ten people engage in a final duel to determine the eight strongest individuals, with the remaining two to cooperate with the eight in a seizure operation. Several days later, the Marleyan Empire's leaders and administrators divided the ten people into two groups for duels. After a fierce battle, the strongest of the five emerged: Zeke Yeager. Meanwhile, after a fierce battle, the strongest of the five, Annie and Leonard, emerged. The strongest from both groups then engaged in a duel to determine the leader of the raid. The two fought a brutal battle, with Zeke Yeager emerging victorious. Thus, the children chosen for the raid were complete. Eight of the ten children inherited the power of eight Titans to carry out the raid, while the other two were responsible for their daily needs and resources. The Marleyan Empire's rulers and administrators, knowing the heavy losses suffered by all three imperial armies in the previous battle, decided this was their best opportunity. They sent the eight strongest children to consume the bodies of the last eight Titan owners from the previous battle, allowing them a few days of rest. Then, Zeke Yeager, the leader who inherited the Titan power, led seven Titan owners and the two children who cared for them to the island chosen by the 145th generation of the Eldian Empire. A few days later, Zeke Yeager, the leader of the ten who were traveling at full speed aboard the newest warship, led nine others to the dam on the island. Zeke Yeager then ordered seven of the nine Titan inheritors to use their Titan bodies to travel at full speed, taking turns to reach the ancient Eldian Empire. However, their journey was not smooth, as their Titan bodies attracted the attention of numerous strange species, as well as several exceptionally powerful strange species from various parts of the island. Consequently, several powerful strange species from different regions led their local groups of strange species toward them. Meanwhile, Zeke Yeager also sensed something amiss, as many strange species were interfering with their progress. At the same time, he sensed that the distance between them and several unusually powerful and strange creatures was gradually decreasing. Zeke Jaeger then had Bertholdt Hoover transform into a Titan and unleash a massive explosion using his full Titan power, creating a powerful Titan jet that opened a gap in the surrounding creatures. Zeke Jaeger used his full Titan power to protect himself and the other eight people. After Bertholdt Hoover's Titan form exploded and attacked, Zeke Jaeger then had Bertholdt Hoover leave his Titan form and come to his side. Simultaneously, he had Annie Leonard transform into a Titan, with the nine of them standing on her shoulders. Zeke Jaeger then used his full Titan power to create nine protective shields and had Annie Leonard, in a desperate state, unleash her full power, moving at incredible speed towards the gap created by Bertholdt's Titan form. They reached the vicinity of the ancient Eldian Empire's wall on the island. The unusually powerful and strange creatures, seeing the Titan form's aura disappear, ceased their pursuit and returned to their respective territories. Meanwhile, Annie Leonard's condition wasn't much better. She had forced herself to maintain her Titan powers to the limit, barely reaching the vicinity of the Eldian Empire's ancient wall before dissolving her Titan form and collapsing to the ground. The other eight, protected by Zeke Yeager's full Titan power, landed safely on the ground. Seeing Annie Leonard's extremely poor condition, Zeke Yeager instructed the other eight to rest and recuperate until Annie Leonard was fully recovered before resuming their mission.