Marley's Soldiers

"They truly are... devils. Our Marleyan ancestors were eaten up that way, too. By you Eldians."

- An officer witnesses the fall of Fort Slava

Māre no Senshi (マーレの戦士) is the 2nd chapter of the 23rd volume and the 92nd chapter overall of the Attack on Titan manga, written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama.

Overview
Above Fort Slava, Marley prepares an airstrike as Galliard's Jaws and Pieck's Cartman lead the 800-warrior unit in a charge against the Mid-East Allied Forces. Falco attempts to save an Allied soldier's life, though the soldier is ungrateful and disgusted towards the Eldians. As Commander Magath and Colt survey the situation, the signal is given for the Marley zeppelin to begin the next phase of the attack. From above, Zeke transforms parachuting Eldian captives into Titans with his Titan power, creating a devastating airstrike. The warrior cadets look on as Titans begin eating the soldiers.

Reiner Braun joins the battle as the Armored Titan, destroying the remaining anti-Titan artillery as Galliard assists. Once the coast is clear, Zeke joins the ground forces as the Beast Titan and uses leftover artillery in the fortress to destroy the Mid-East naval fleet stationed in the nearby bay. The fleet is destroyed, but artillery fire from the ships heavily damages the Armored Titan. A peace treaty between Marley and the Mid-East is later signed, but the outcome of the battle reminded Marley of the growing need to acquire the Founding Titan.

Summary
After receiving word that Fort Slava's armored train has been disabled, Zeke and Reiner are ordered to begin their plan to parachute into Fort Slava.

As Marley's Eldian soldiers begin to advance upon Fort Slava, the Mid-East Allied Forces begin to retreat in terror as Galliard uses his Titan to massacre them. Some Mid-East soldiers begin firing at the approaching Eldians, but are quickly dispatched by Pieck, whose Titan has been outfitted with artillery allowing four soldiers riding her back to fire upon their enemies. As Pieck and Galliard continue fighting, Falco drags an injured Mid-East soldier to safety, to his superior's ire. Gabi assumes that Falco intends to use the soldier to prove that she broke international law, and disqualify her from inheriting the Armored Titan, which Falco denies. Falco asks Udo to translate what the injured soldier is saying, and his Marley superior is delighted when Udo reveals that the soldier is calling the warrior cadets "demons". As the Marley superior continues laughing, Magath asks Colt for his opinion of the battle. Colt advises that all ground troops be called back so that Reiner and Zeke's forces can attack, to which Magath agrees. Receiving the order to withdraw, the Eldian soldiers on the battlefield begin to retreat as Zeke's forces exit the blimp flying above Fort Slava. After all of the captive Eldians inside the zeppelin are dropped out, Zeke lets out a roar causing them all to shift into Pure Titans. Dozens of Titans rain down on Fort Slava, crushing soldiers and building alike. Although some of the Titans die from the impact of their fall, those remaining begin to rise and devour the remaining Mid-East soldiers inside the Fort. As the warrior cadets and their superiors watch, one of their superiors muses that many Marleyans were devoured in the same way that the Mid-East force are being annihilated before their eyes. As he parachutes into Fort Slava, Reiner takes note of where the remaining anti-Titan artillery is stationed, before noticing the wall that surrounds the Fort. Recalling his time on Paradis, Reiner angrily notes that he is tired of seeing walls, and transforms into his Titan form. He begins to destroy the remaining artillery, but quickly comes to the realization that the artillery can penetrate even his armor. Before he can be pinned down, however, Galliard comes to his aid, and the two begin working in tandem to destroy the remaining artillery. After they are done, Reiner signals Zeke. Zeke, noting Reiner's signal as he parachutes in, reflects on the fact that the warriors' defeat on Paradis was the reason for the war between Marley and the Allies. Transforming into his Titan form, Zeke gathers up some unused artillery shells and throws them in the direction of the Mid-East fleet. However, he is caught off-guard when the fleet turns their weapons on him and open fire. Zeke is unable to react in time to dodge the fire, and is only saved when Reiner uses his own Titan as a shield to protect him.

The shells Zeke threw successfully destroyed the Mid-East fleet, and soon afterward, the Mid-East Allied Forces agreed to a peace treaty with Marley, bringing the two nations' four year war to an end. However, the revelation that there was weaponry in existence that could harm even the warriors' Titans made it clear that Marley now needs the power of the Founding Titan more than ever.

Trivia

 * In later chapters, the Japanese word "senshi" (戦士) is used in reference to the Eldian soldiers in service to Marley. This word translates as "warrior", though in the title of this chapter the word is instead translated as "soldier" as it was in Chapter 31 and in the title of Chapter 34. A more accurate title for the chapter would therefore be Marley's Warriors (マーレの戦士).