"Captain, how should we proceed next?"
On the towering Wall Rose, a bizarre Titan crouched on all fours spoke in a human voice.
Before the Cart Titan, a figure was buttoning his shirt, one button at a time.
"Ah, that's a very good question. How should we proceed next? Pieck, what do you think?"Zeke Yeager, now fully dressed, asked in return.
The Cart Titan fell silent. Normally sharp-minded, she could clearly sense the faint anger in Captain Zeke's tone.
"What a failure. First we lost the Jaw's power, and now it seems we've even lost the Female Titan's power."
Zeke muttered softly.
Naturally, the Cart Titan assumed the Captain was angry. But what was Zeke truly thinking?
At this moment, Zeke thought to himself:
"Indeed, this really surprises me. In that case, it's even more favorable for carrying out the plan."Yet his expression did not change in the slightest.
"Let's wait for Reiner and the others' news. And that Eren… he seems quite interesting."Zeke looked up at the setting sun and said meaningfully.
"Yes, Captain."
...
"Recruit Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert—by order of Commander Erwin, report immediately to the southern section of Wall Rose and stand by!"
A Survey Corps soldier on horseback delivered the order crisply.
Eren, of course, had nothing to say. Even with bandages still wrapped around his head, he stood up firmly and answered loudly.
Mikasa had nothing to say either. Her eyes held only Eren; she would never leave him alone.
Only Armin showed a change in expression. Sharp-minded Armin instantly realized something and chased after the messenger, asking urgently:
"May I ask! Will the other recruits also be heading to Wall Rose to assemble?"
The messenger gave Armin a strange look but did not conceal the truth.
"Yes. The other recruits and part of the combat units have all been arranged to assemble at Wall Rose. Titans have appeared inside Wall Rose—be extremely careful!"
With that, the messenger immediately spurred his horse and left.
After the messenger departed, Armin's face instantly turned pale. He suddenly grabbed Eren by the shoulders and said anxiously:
"Eren! Th-this is using you as bait!"
Eren looked utterly confused.
"Armin, what are you talking about?"
Mikasa also cast a questioning look toward Armin.
"Annie is the Female Titan—she was trying to capture Eren! But if it were only Annie alone, she shouldn't have acted rashly. And the information the right-side combat squad received about Eren's position was wrong! How did Annie manage to catch up to Eren?"
Armin analyzed calmly.
"There must be companions of the Female Titan within our Survey Corps as well—people who also want Eren, and they must be among us recruits."
Hearing Armin's explanation, Eren protested in disbelief:
"Armin, what nonsense are you talking about? How could everyone possibly be Titans?"
"But Annie is the Female Titan who wanted to capture you! Eren, did you ever think Annie could be a Titan?"
Armin immediately shot back.
"I…"
Eren froze, not knowing how to respond.
"We've never been able to explain why those Titans could breach the walls—because they're intelligent Titans who can turn into humans! Why the Colossal Titan didn't appear for years, yet suddenly appeared on the very day we graduated! This means…"
Armin raised his head, stared straight into Eren's eyes, and said word by word, slowly:
"These Titans have turned into humans, infiltrated within the walls, and even joined the Survey Corps, becoming comrades who lived with us for three years!"
"No… I—I don't believe something like that."
Eren's face was pale, as if unwilling to accept this almost cruel reality.
"Eren, don't worry. I'll always stay by your side!"
Mikasa gently comforted Eren. Only when facing Eren would Mikasa reveal this tenderness.
After a while.
The three were fully equipped and ready to depart. Armin, standing beside Eren, still said worriedly:
"Eren, do you really have to go? You'll be in danger."
Eren gripped the reins firmly. The blue-and-white Wings of Freedom emblem on his chest flickered faintly in the torchlight.
"I'm going! This is the Commander's order, isn't it? And besides!"
Eren looked at the tiger's mouth of his hand and said heavily:
"If there really is a traitor, I'll personally drag them out! And then, drive them away!"
Seeing Eren's resolute expression, Armin hesitated for a moment, but still leaned close and whispered a few words into Eren's ear.
"What!?"
Even though he was mentally prepared, when Eren actually heard the two names Armin spoke, his pupils still shook violently.
"Move out!"
A Survey Corps Squad Leader gave the order, and Eren and the other two followed the squad toward Wall Rose.
...
"Reiner?"
Ymir's gaze suddenly turned dangerous. What had she just heard? Canned food?
Several hours earlier, the southern and northern squads of the Survey Corps had assembled beneath Wall Rose. To everyone's surprise, neither squad found any breach in the wall. The entire southern region of Wall Rose had already been fully scouted, with no signs whatsoever of Titan damage.
Though utterly puzzled, the exhausted soldiers and horses could only choose to rest for the time being. Fortunately, it was night, when Titan activity was greatly reduced, and everyone prepared to find a place to recuperate.
As for the exact condition of Wall Rose, they could only wait for the Garrison's full inspection of the wall the next day and see what the investigation report would say.
Utgard Castle—although abandoned for a long time—was sufficient for the Survey Corps to rest for one night. Thus, the hungry and exhausted southern and northern squads entered this ancient castle. Perhaps because it had long been abandoned, Utgard Castle appeared exceptionally dilapidated. After a simple cleanup, everyone ate some dry rations and then went to rest.
Ymir and Reiner, meanwhile, were on the other side dealing with the cleared-out debris.
Ymir lifted an iron can and looked thoughtfully at the writing on it—text she had never seen on the island before. Reiner beside her also picked one up, seemingly without paying attention, and blurted out the words on it:
"Canned herring?"
Only after saying it did Reiner suddenly realize what he had done. Ymir's entire body also stiffened for a moment.
Reiner's pupils contracted as he watched Ymir warily, but Ymir continued calmly sorting the debris.
"Didn't you hear it?"
Reiner let out a slight sigh of relief. But where he couldn't see, several beads of cold sweat appeared on Ymir's forehead.
"Damn it! Historia, you really shouldn't have come to this rotten place!"
(T/N: I want to exaplain this situation from anime. In this fanfic this situation is a bit different, I would like to note.
Rainer realizes that they both know what is written on the can because it is written in the language of the Marleyans. So her knowing it's a can of Herring teaches him that she's not who she says she is. So he tests her by asking her if she can read these 'strange characters' that neither of them should know because they were supposed to be raised within the walls.
Herring is a salt water fish that shouldn't exist or be known of within the walls. honestly it's amazing how much subtle information is communicated in this one scene.
She realizes as well that she messed up. So in short, Reiner's purposefully playing dumb to not give away that he knows what the text says as well, as that would blow his cover.)
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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