Gale received the news from the crew and was deeply moved.
Many significant events had taken place that year.
On May 2, Marley surrendered to the Middle East Coalition, bringing the three-year Marley War to an end.
On June 4, the coalition, together with Marley, declared war on Paradis Island, marking the beginning of the invasion.
On July 15, after two months of preparation, the coalition officially went to war against Paradis Island.
The first naval engagement began on July 18.
Coalition ships approaching Paradis Island were bombed by aircraft from Paradis Island.
At first, Paradis Island used conventional bombs rather than incendiary ones.
Paradis Island once again warned the coalition through public telegraph channels that continuing the attack on Paradis Island would bring unbearable consequences.
The coalition leadership ignored the warning.
During the first formal battle, the coalition suffered relatively few losses; the high-altitude bombing caused only limited damage to the scattered armored warships.
Furthermore, the accuracy of bombs dropped from such heights was extremely poor; most of them failed to hit the ships and instead fell into the sea.
Only a small number of unfortunate soldiers perished on deck.
After that, the Allied soldiers learned to seek shelter.
The roar of the aircraft was deafening; whenever they heard them, the soldiers hid inside the cabins to prepare for attacks from Paradis Island.
The Allied forces' strategy was sound: even if Paradis Island possessed aircraft, because they were dispersed, they would not be able to inflict too much damage.
The number of aircraft was limited. As long as the soldiers landed on the island from remote areas, established a battle line, broke through the walls, and attacked the rear of Paradis Island, then, lacking supplies, the sparsely populated Paradis Island would quickly fall.
They believed Paradis Island could not use the Rumbling.
They had learned this from Willy, and the "Vow Renouncing War" was real.
Willy claimed that if Paradis Island had been able to control the Rumbling, they would never have taken such a great risk, ignoring public opinion, by going to Liberio to seize the War Hammer Titan.
Willy believed that the people of Paradis Island had somehow circumvented the "Vow Renouncing War," perhaps by allowing an immature child to inherit the Founding Titan. By manipulating the child's understanding, the Founding Titan's power controlled the Titans, accelerating the development of Paradis Island.
In the mind of the 145th King Fritz, perhaps the Titans' labor was simply helping his people live better lives.
This was the limitation of the Founding Titan's power; no matter how much its predecessors restricted one's thinking, there was always the possibility of unforeseen events. The Founding Titan's power was not omnipotent; the power of the Titans had many insurmountable flaws, enough to prove fatal.
In fact, Paradis Island never used the threat of the Rumbling to warn the Allied Forces.
But it was not because Paradis Island could not use the Rumbling.
On the day the nuclear bombs were dropped, the Allied Forces—and every nation in the world—understood.
It was not that Paradis Island could not use the Rumbling, but that it possessed a far more powerful means of achieving victory.
Its refusal to use the Rumbling was simply an act of mercy toward ordinary soldiers and civilians.
After all, the Rumbling could only advance in a straight line. Once activated, it would destroy everything in its path, and its speed was limited. The high command could evacuate the Rumbling's target area as soon as they received word.
That would have resulted in casualties far more horrifying than the "Marley nuclear explosion," with only civilians left dead.
However, during the invasion of Paradis Island, the arrogant rulers failed to understand this.
They were determined to destroy Paradis Island, and on July 22, Paradis Island finally revealed its true nature.
After several futile warnings to the Allied Forces, the government of Paradis Island began using incendiary bombs.
A large number of aircraft took off from Shiganshina Airport, turning the sea into an ocean of fire and leaving the soldiers sheltering aboard their ships with no escape.
In fact, at that point, some people began considering a ceasefire.
They had lost several high-value ships, yet had failed to launch an effective counterattack.
The battle lines could not advance; reports from the front indicated the presence of numerous giant machine guns and rows of steel fleets along the land border, making any advance impossible.
From July 22 onward, the Allied Forces suffered heavy casualties.
The voices of the peace faction grew much louder on August 1, believing that the blind offensive could not continue and that a temporary truce should be reached to seek another solution.
However, radical anti-Eldian extremists assassinated the members of the peace faction, shooting them in the streets, determined to occupy Paradis Island and carry out the assassination of the Founding Titan.
On August 5, Paradis Island finally issued an ultimatum to the world.
Paradis Island sent numerous public telegrams worldwide and used aircraft to drop the **Declaration of Shiganshina** over the capitals of the participating nations.
*"Paradis Island demands the immediate and unconditional surrender of all Allied armed forces, along with appropriate guarantees of good faith to ensure compliance. Otherwise, the Allied Forces shall be swiftly and completely annihilated."*
It was a direct threat, but to some members of the Allied high command, it amounted to nothing more than another Colossal Titan explosion.
Given the enormous investment and losses already sustained at the front, no one in the pro-war faction was willing to withdraw their forces because of an explosion that required months of cooldown after each use.
Until 1:00 p.m. on August 8, the bells rang.
The black steel projectile was released amid the tolling bells.
At that moment, no one realized what it was.
Allied officers, the residents of Marley, and fishing boats along the coast all silently looked toward the sky.
Journalists were stationed near Marley; some captured photographs of the nuclear bomb's release.
At that moment, Marley still existed, as peaceful as on countless quiet afternoons.
But seconds later, everything vanished.
A flash of light and overwhelming heat threatened to destroy the world itself; Liberio, which had stood for millennia, was vaporized.
All matter at the center of the explosion disappeared. Those survivors standing near the edge managed to rise to their feet, but even their eyes had been burned away; they struggled briefly before dying.
The journalist who had taken that photograph also died. Although he had not been at the epicenter, he had remained there taking photographs for the following six days. On the fifth day, his body began to react abnormally; blood poured from his face, and his organs collapsed.
Paradis Island issued a warning to the world, declaring that even after the nuclear bomb had detonated, it would continue causing radiation damage for decades.
Paradis Island warned the world not to approach the still-radiating ruins of Marley, declaring that anyone who ignored the warning would suffer the consequences.
Marley was reduced to ruins; its former prosperity vanished.
The flames could be seen and felt from hundreds of kilometers away.
It was as though the sun itself had fallen to Earth; humanity could not even pray, and perhaps even the gods trembled.
The senior officers and the Middle East Coalition troops stationed in Liberio were annihilated by the projectile known as the "nuclear bomb."
That same day, Paradis Island sent another telegram to the world, declaring that if its warnings continued to be ignored, it would carry out the Declaration of Shiganshina to the very end until the war was over.
For the following six days, Colossal Titans remained stationed along the shores of Paradis Island.
The government of Paradis Island declared that it had no desire to use the Rumbling; it merely wished to defend its homeland and its people. If the coalition persisted, they would launch a second nuclear bomb upon the world.
The coalition's high command was terrified; they dared not gamble on Paradis Island possessing a second nuclear bomb.
The coalition, originally nothing more than an improvised alliance, was horrified after witnessing the weapon. Its rulers feared it would be used against them, destroying their nations and their economies.
Paradis Island had truly been ruthless, bombing Marley without hesitation. Marley had been the center of world trade; even nations that defeated Marley in war would never have destroyed its capital—they would only have wanted to occupy it and profit from it.
Yet Paradis Island destroyed that place, a source of immense wealth, without a second thought, instilling profound fear throughout the world.
Upon seeing the Colossal Titans lined up along the island, the nations lost all of their former confidence. No one dared to shout, "Let us perish together with the devils of Paradis Island!"
Six days later, the coalition surrendered.
As senior officials of Paradis Island, Gale and Hange analyzed several turning points that had led to the coalition's defeat.
The most important, of course, was the nuclear explosion.
Beyond that, they identified four additional factors.
The first was the incendiary offensive.
Erwin relentlessly employed incendiary attacks during the naval campaign, always choosing windy conditions. The August heat was intense, and once the flames ignited, the strong winds only intensified them. His air force dropped incendiary bombs in a cross-shaped pattern to maximize the effect of the wind, ensuring that a sufficiently large area would burn regardless of the wind's direction.
According to newspaper reports, within eight days, Paradis Island had set a new military record in human history: the second-highest daily death toll ever recorded in warfare.
The highest remained the nuclear strike on Marley, with an estimated 180,000 casualties.
Following the incendiary offensive, the Allied Forces began seriously considering peace.
Second, there were internal conflicts within the Allied Forces.
This army had been organized around interests and hatred; Marley was its primary driving force, while the Middle East Coalition was its greatest contributor.
However, the Middle East Coalition had already gained enormous benefits by defeating Marley.
Their attack on Paradis Island, following Marley's advice, had simply been an attempt to gain complete control over the world's resources, become the true global hegemon, and then exterminate the Eldians they despised.
Instead, they gained nothing from the war; they suffered continuous losses, laying the foundation for the Allied Forces' surrender.
Third was the soldiers' morale.
Those who had participated in the naval battles saw no possibility of victory. Even when aircraft arrived to provide support, they merely died one after another.
A sense of inevitable defeat spread among the officers and soldiers at the front.
The officers and soldiers did not want to die, yet the rulers ordered part of their fleet to remain facing Paradis Island.
Officially, it was called a confrontation, but in reality, they were being used as bait, fueling resentment within the military.
Fourth was the threat of the Rumbling.
Erwin was clever. Immediately after launching the only nuclear bomb, he contacted Eren in the capital and ordered him to control a small number of Colossal Titans and position them near the port of the nuclear industrial zone. Although they appeared numerous, there were only about a dozen of them.
The damage caused to the island by the Colossal Titans' movements was negligible, yet it effectively intimidated the Allied high command, causing them to completely abandon the offensive.
Human beings fear death. Rulers do not fear it because they are not the ones expected to die.
But when they truly face death, when they realize that no matter how hard they try to avoid it they may still die, when that earthly hell stretches out before them, they are instantly overwhelmed by terror.
Only when confronted with true death, when death unfolds before their very eyes, can a person who has lost all reason finally come to their senses.
Thus, every nation calmed down.
Especially the Middle East Coalition. The first bomb had struck Marley, and there was a ninety-nine percent chance that the second would strike the Middle East.
They accepted the Declaration of Shiganshina, surrendered to Paradis Island, and ordered their frontline soldiers to disarm immediately, while any fleet capable of retreating was instructed to withdraw at once.
As for the remaining soldiers who had landed on the island but had not received the telegram, the coalition declared that Paradis Island could deal with them however it saw fit. They could attempt to persuade those troops to surrender, and Paradis Island had the right to disarm and prosecute them.
The world recognized the sovereignty of Paradis Island and agreed to accept the declaration, establish a peaceful federation, and manage all postwar affairs.
Gale and Hange high-fived each other and embraced aboard the ship, celebrating victory and peace.
The war was over, and only the final cleanup remained.
Paradis Island was eliminating the remaining Allied soldiers and armed groups while moving forward with the planning and establishment of the World Federation.
It was expected that, after the soldiers of each nation had been repatriated, representatives from every country would be invited to Paradis Island for peaceful and equal dialogue.
"Probably after October," Gale reached his own conclusion. "Knowing Commander Erwin's methods, he'll most likely conduct a second nuclear test explosion while inviting representatives from various countries, as a warning to those who still harbor ulterior motives."
"But... it's finally over." Hange sighed in relief. "Now... I can finally get some rest. These past few days have been so stressful that I haven't been able to sleep at all."
"Is it really over?" Gale turned his head to look beneath the ship, where the reflection of a figure crossed the sea. Breaking through the waves, it was not his shadow.
"Let's return to the island first," Gale said as he turned around. "Let's go home first, and then we'll decide what to do."
White doves flew over the harbor; peace reigned at Isfar's border port.
The ship sounded its horn and set course for Paradis Island, carrying the four of them back home.
From aboard the ship, they contacted Paradis Island by radio to inform them that they were safe.