Age of Titans Chapter 20

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Age of Titans! Wall Rose has been breached by the enemy! As the incompetent nobles are left in confusion and chaos as to what that even means, the ones running the current regime are now on the backfoot, not having expected such a thing to happen so suddenly. Even Erwin, Pixis, Nile, and Zackly are surprised at the suddenness, but they move ahead with their own plans during the chaos of the moment. What will Eren and the other Survey Corps Shifters do in response to this attack? Can the saving of part of Ragako Village be the next nail in the coffin for the hidden rulers of the Walls?

If you’d like to become a patron and get access to these chapters earlier, just head on over to Pat re on and add a /Kairomaru after the com.

Make sure to thank the patrons that make these stories possible by checking out the Patron Plaque on my profile!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 20 – Political Upheaval

The uproar in the large meeting room was nearly deafening, Too any people were trying to shout over each other at the same time for anyone to be heard. Shouts of panic, demands for answers, even some people trying to run out of the room to return to their lands (in the case of the nobles) or to get to their positions for the even of a second Wall Breach (in the case of the officers).

“SILENCE!!!” Zackly roared out, slamming his fist onto the large meeting table strongly.

The panic and hysteria went silent almost instantly. Everyone looked at Zackly with wide eyes, some of them still had their mouths open from yelling, yet not a sound was made. Darius Zackly’s serious expression quickly reminded everyone in the room just WHY he was the Commander in Chief of the military.

“Soldier,” Zackly looked at the Survey Corps soldier that had burst into the room to deliver the message. “Explain the situation clearly.” The simple command in the silent room almost made the air feel heavy.

“Y-Yes, sir!” The soldier saluted properly and began to tell them everything he’d learned of the situation, while obviously omitting the part about receiving the intel through the Paths. “Early this morning in Ragako Village, a small farming village a couple hours south of the Southern Outpost between Trost District, Krolva District, Ehrmich District, and Yarckel District, a strange white smoke filled half the village, forcing the residents to flee fearing a wildfire. However, the villagers that escaped all reported that a loud roar shook the air and then multiple flashing lights, almost like lightning, filled the large cloud of smoke and slowly dispersed it. From the smoke came Titans, but the Titans all bore similar features to residents of the village…as if the villagers themselves had been turned into mindless Titans!”

Fear colored the faces of all the nobles present and more than a few of the military officers. No one could speak a word as the thought of people being turned into mindless Titans in large numbers terrified them

“Two Survey Corps soldiers, Connie Springer and Sasha Braus, were in the village at the time and began to eliminate the Titans; they were soon reinforced by Squad Leader Mike and soldier Nanaba.” The soldier continued his report promptly. “An unknown force of enemies were spotted on the opposite side of Ragako Village where the large smoke cloud had originated, including two Titans…one that looked like an Ape and another walking on all fours. With them were regular people, indicating that the two Titans were intelligent, and according to Squad Leader Mike’s information, the regular people were dressed in what appeared to be unknown military uniforms. This unknown squad was forced to flee by the presence of Sasha Braus and her Titan Power attacking them from a distance; disabling the Ape Titan and injuring the quadrupedal Titan.”

Zackly spoke before anyone else could. “Were these unknown enemies eliminated, captured, or did they all escape?”

“Squad Leader Mike’s report claims four enemies captured while the rest escaped, sir!” The soldier answered with a salute.

“Has Mike managed to get any information out of the captured enemies yet?” Erwin asked his subordinate, making sure to keep control of the conversation in the hands of the ones ‘in the know’ about Marley.

The soldier turned to Erwin, still saluting. “Sir, Squad Leader Mike had only just captured them at the time of the report, the only information he’s gotten is that the enemy soldiers repeatedly called him, Nanaba, and even the residents of Ragako Village, as ‘Wall Devils’ for reasons unknown.”

That finally got murmuring to start as the various nobles and officers looked between each other in confusion, some repeating the term aloud in bafflement.

“It would seem that these unknown enemies come from outside the Walls if they have a derogatory term for those of us who live within them.” Pixis stated seriously, the immense respect he had within the military making every single soldier pay attention to him immediately.

Nile watched out of the corner of his eye as one person slipped out of the large room while everyone was focused on Pixis. Knowing that the person was an informant for the Assembly made the next move easier as the Assembly would only receive partial information while the three Commanders, along with Zackly, could take direct command as this was clearly a military emergency. Without giving the Assembly time to give new instructions to the fat and incompetent nobles to stall things, it was time to push forward.

“We need to mobilize forces to reinforce Wall Sina, as well as a large scouting force to find any possible breach in Wall Rose.” Nile spoke up over the slowly growing murmurs, once more making them fall silent as everyone turned to look at him. “This concerns the survival of everyone within Wall Rose, so we must be quick. Commander in Chief Zackly, I believe this falls under Military Emergency Status!”

“I agree.” Erwin put his support behind making the situation an official military emergency.

“As do I.” Pixis said seriously, looking at Zackly.

Zackly nodded to all three Commanders. “A breach of the Walls, according to the Charter, immediately counts as a Military Emergency and as all three Commanders agree, I, Darius Zackly, as Commander in Chief of the Military, announce the enacting of emergency powers!” His voice rumbled like thunder in the quiet room. The very air seemed to shift at the announcement and every officer in the room sat up straight. “Commander Pixis, rally the Garrison of Wall Rose and Wall Sina, full lockdown protocols are to be put into effect immediately!”

“Yes, Chief Commander.” Pixis stood up and saluted swiftly.

“Commander Dok, move all Military Police members into position to control civilian traffic and prevent panic from taking hold. Use your authority to have the newspapers print only the truth of this matter as we know it and have them handed out to all of the citizens of every district and town!”

Nile quickly stood to his feet and saluted. “Yes, sir!” That was the fastest way to mass release the information of the outside world throughout the Walls before anyone could prevent it.

“Commander Smith, gather the Survey Corps and immediately set out for Ragako Village; from there head south to Wall Rose and begin searching for any trace of a breach! You have full authority to use any force required should you find these foreign invaders!”

“Yes, Chief Commander!” Erwin rose and saluted. “We should have the preliminary search of Wall Rose completed within forty-eight hours! A thorough search could take as much as five days by my best estimate, sir!”

Zackly nodded once. “Get it done and don’t miss anything, Commander Smith!”

“Sir!” Erwin nodded while maintaining his salute.

“All Officers!” Zackly directly addressed the rest of the military members in the room. “We’re officially treating this as a potential Wall Breach, report to your stations and take command of your squads! Follow the orders of your Commanders and protect our people from this foreign enemy!”

Every man and woman rose at once and saluted, the sound louder than ever in the nearly silent room. “Sir, yes, sir!”

As every soldier quickly left the room, moving as quickly as they could given the situation, the nobles all began to clamber out of the room shortly afterwards. While the soldiers were taking quick and controlled actions as befit their training, the fat nobles were practically stumbling over each other to get out of the building first and to their carriages so that they could return to their homes.

“How fast can you have a document ready to print the truth, Pixis?” Zackly asked as only the four Commanders remained.

“We should have it within the hour.” Pixis said, informing them that the secret printing facility was up and running already.

Nile nodded to Pixis sharply. “I’ll have every newspaper office informed that they’re to print what the Military Police give them before then.”

Erwin, nodded to the other three men, already heading for the door. “I’ll have the Survey Corp mobilized within the hour. We’ll start our search in Ragako Village and determine the entry point of the enemy.” He looked at Zackly directly. “With your permission, Chief Commander, I’d like to mobilize a swift reconnaissance squad to check on the situation in Shiganshina. Having been the site of the previous breach, if our sealing of it has been undone, we’ll have to postpone the large scale military operation further until we can reseal it.”

“Granted.” Zackly quickly pulled a piece of paper in front of him and began writing on it. “Check the other three outer districts of Wall Maria while you’re at it, if multiple squads are necessary, you have my authorization to mobilize them.” He pulled out his personal Commander in Chief Seal stamp and stamped the new order he’d just written up, making it official with the current emergency powers he possessed.

“Thank you, sir.” Erwin took the order and carefully folded it before placing it in the inner pocket of his jacket. He promptly left to meet up with Levi, who he knew would be waiting just outside the building for him.

-One Hour Later-

The Military Police were out in force, directing both foot and wagon traffic to clear main roads for military use. As the civilians began to ask the reason for the sudden changes, the MP’s could only give them the prepared statement that the information would be made available through the papers shortly.

That did little to ease the growing tension in the air as the Garrison soldiers were hurrying up the Walls and around the various gates, clearly locking them down and stopping all traffic going between Wall Sina and Wall Rose. When even the gates into the outer districts of the Walls were being locked down, something serious had to be going on.

-Trost District-

“What?!” Eren shot to his feet as the information about the attack on Ragako Village reached him. “This morning?!”

Annie grimaced from beside Eren. “It has been years now… It seems that Marley couldn’t afford to wait any longer.”

“We’re moving out, we can check on the others soon.” Mikasa soothed Eren as best as she could, seeing the tension in his body and the anger in his eyes.

Eren let out a long exhale before taking a deep breath, holding it, and then letting it out slowly. “Right.” His face was set with determination. “Follow the orders and mobilize straight towards Ragako Village, we need to figure out what’s going on.”

Both Mikasa and Annie agreed with Eren, their faces becoming stoic and cold in Annie’s case, while flat and expressionless in Mikasa’s case. They moved swiftly towards the horses that were being prepped for all of the Survey Corps members to move out.

-Krolva District-

“An attack?!” Armin nearly gaped at the news before quickly shaking his head and schooling his expression as best as he could. “Within Wall Rose?” He needed as much information as possible to try and figure anything out.

“That’s what the current mobilization is about.” Ymir nodded to Armin as she helped saddle a horse. “They’re treating it as a potential Wall Breach, so emergency military powers have been enacted.”

Historia looked worried, even as she was saddling another horse. “You don’t think they broke through Shiganshina again, do you?” It would be a loss of all the work done on the last expedition if Shiganshina had been unsealed and left to the Pure Titans.

“It’s possible.” Armin said as he thought over what little information they had. “Shiganshina was the first breach, and it’s somewhat close to Ragako Village. But all four of the outermost districts are abandoned, they could’ve smashed through any one of the other three gates too.” He looked at both Ymir and Historia and lowered his voice. “That’s assuming they aren’t capable of just scaling the Walls without needing to go through the gates, of course…which seems likely given that there’s been no breach into the Trost, Karanes, or Utopia Districts.” There was no need to state that the Krolva District that they were in hadn’t been breached.

“Lenz! Arlert! Ymir!” Squad Leader Marlene called out to the three of them.

“Ma’am!” All three saluted.

“You three are with my squad!” Marlene informed them simply and quickly. “Get your horses and head for the inner gate, we’re moving out in five minutes!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Armin, Ymir, and Historia responded promptly.

Meanwhile, Hange and her squad were already at the inner gate of the Krolva District. As one of the highest officers within the Survey Corps, Hange was leading the departure of all the other squads from the district.

“How could they have turned a village into Pure Titans with smoke?” Hange muttered to herself, theory after theory running through her mind. It had to be some form of the serum that Marley used to turn Eldians into Pure Titans, but how did they keep its effectiveness in a vapor form and spread on the air? Every theory only brought up more questions and Hange didn’t have the time or the freedom right now to try to investigate any of it.

“Squad Leader Hange, ma’am!” One of the Hange Squad called out from the back of her horse. “We’re only waiting on the last few squads to assemble. We should be ready to head out within the next five minutes.”

Hange shook her head once before looking back at all of the gathered Survey Corps members already on horseback. “Right! As we’re in a lockdown state, the gates will not be fully opened! Duck low on your horses and ride out swiftly so that the gates can close behind us quickly! We’re heading south-southeast straight for Ragako Village! From there we’ll be ensuring the safety of the civilians before spreading out along the perimeter of Wall Rose to search for any signs of a breach!”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” All of the gathered Survey Corps soldiers saluted from atop their horses.

-Hours Later-

Newspapers had been printed faster than normal, thousands of them, nearly depleting the paper supplies of most of the companies as they rushed to print the information directly from the highest command of the military. Not a single newspaper minded though, as the money for their services had been paid up front by order of Commander in Chief, Darius Zackly.

“Extra! Extra! Special printing! Invasion from outside the Walls! Official news of a potential breach of Wall Rose by outside enemies!” A paperman yelled loudly into the gathered crowds, handing out papers for free to everyone that came up to him.

“Give me one too, lad!” An older man spoke up and quickly unfolded the paper as soon as the younger man handed it to him. The old man’s eyes ran over the lines on the front page for a long moment, growing wider and wider with each line he read. “There’s people outside the Walls?! But…that’s not what we’ve been told and taught all our lives?” He said in confusion.

Another person, a woman standing next to the nearby market stall, spoke to the older man. “That’s what I said! But this comes directly from the high command of the military, so it must be true, right?”

More people in the ever-growing crowd began to chime in with their own thoughts on the matter.

“It can’t be, right?”

“Why would the military lie about this?”

“There’s no way they’d have a full lockdown if there wasn’t something serious going on!”

“The foreign enemies call us ‘Wall Devils’? What’s that about?”

“That’s horrifying considering they attacked us!”

“We need to defend ourselves!”

“One of the Titan Soldiers drove off the enemy! We need more of them if the enemy is going to use Titans of their own!”

“Eren Yeager will protect the Walls just like he did in Trost!”

“Yeah! The Titan Soldiers will fight off these foreign enemies!”

The growing fervor in every single marketplace in every single district, city, town, and even the further villages (as runners from the various newspaper companies were rushing to deliver the latest news) was watched by several dozens of people in the shadows. Many of them had wide eyes at seeing so much information that they’d normally silence being spread faster than a wildfire throughout the Walls.

“What can we even do about this?” One man in the shadows asked a woman with cold eyes.

“Unless we kill everyone that’s read one of those newspapers…nothing.” She said plainly, her tone flat. There was simply no way to stifle this much widespread information at this point.

A sudden, loud exclamation caught the two’s attention.

“The Walls breached by outsiders?!” A man in the garb of a Wall Faithful shouted, a newspaper in his hands. “Impossible! How dare they so much as touch our divine protectors?!” The man began to rant, making more than a few in the crowd move away from him. However, there were several other Wall Faithful in the crowd that gathered around, nodding along with the man and echoing his condemnation of these ‘outsiders’ breaching the Walls.

“Shit…” The man next to the cold woman cursed. “If the Wall Faithful take the military’s side, then we’re going to have a bigger problem.” Sure, the Assembly and the true King had some control of the Wall Faith, but not complete control…and perhaps less control of the part they did influence than they thought.

The woman turned and began to speed walk towards the other end of the alley they were in. “We’ll make our report and await our orders.”

The man quickly followed after her with a nod, knowing better than to question her.

In other markets, similar conversations and questions were being asked, and the information only continued to spread out of control.

Under Pixis’s instruction a few Garrison soldiers that he trusted implicitly began to sow specific questions among the agitated crowds.

“What’s the Monarchy doing when we’ve been attacked by outsiders?!”

That single question, asked to no one in particular, by a man in plain clothes made several of the people close enough to hear him stop talking. Looks and glances were shared between the people, questions being asked without words.

“The Assembly has been silent too.” A woman that looked like she worked in the bakery on the street given her clothing, mentioned as she read her own newspaper.

Another man, this one blonde and dressed like a coachman, flipped the page of his newspaper. “Is this why all of the nobles have rushed back to their estates and shut their gates behind them?”

The silence broken and similar opinions being shared got the people of the crowd talking again.

“Why isn’t the Monarchy saying anything?” Someone asked louder this time.

Someone else replied with a sharp, bitter tone. “Like the aristocrats give a damn about us commonfolk! They’ve clearly decided to hole up in their manors and leave all of us to fend for ourselves!”

“Bastards take our work and tax us, but when we’re in a state of emergency they hide?!” A young man nearly snarled out, getting a lot of agreeing looks from other people in the crowd.

“They never help us, only take most of the food and goods for themselves while the rest of us have to make do with whatever’s left over!” A woman with a baby in her arms said with frustration as she gently rocked her child.

Another man, a merchant, spoke up as well. “Eren Yeager treats us better! I met him in Trost yesterday! He was doing the hard menial labor along with all of the other soldiers and laborers without a bit of complaint!”

“That’s because he’s not one of those fat nobles! He’s a hero born from commoners like us and knows how things really are!” An older woman said with a sharp nod.

Another young man scoffed loudly. “Can you even imagine any of the nobles around here doing a day of hard work?!”

That got more grumbles of annoyance and frustration from the crowd, the frustration of living under incompetent and greedy nobles that took far more than their fair share and had always done so finally finding a release. The venting of the crowd only grew as more people compared the lack of response from the Monarchy or the Assembly to the quick actions of the military to protect the people.

-Late Afternoon ~ Wall Rose-

“Still not a trace of a breach.” Eren said as he rode his horse along the perimeter of Wall Rose. The only thing that made sense was that the Marley forces had used the Prime Beast Titan to scale the walls instead of breaking through them. “But why attack Ragako Village?” That was the question that no one had any solid answers to.

“Any report from the squads sent to check the abandoned outer districts?” Annie asked as she brought her horse alongside Eren’s.

Eren closed his eyes and focused on the Paths that connected all Eldians. It was getting a bit easier the more he practiced, even when not in his Titan Form. With the power of the Prime Attack Titan, Eren could ‘listen in’ on every communication going through the Paths between the various Attack Titans that the Survey Corps were using in secret to communicate instantaneously.

While Eren was listening in to the various reports, looking for the information about the state of the outermost districts, Annie kept her icy blue eyes on their surroundings and Wall Rose. “No footprints… No claw marks on this section of the wall… Where did they enter and leave from?” She already knew where the Marley forces would return to, the port where they turned Eldians into Pure Titans and where they’d been dropped off on Paradis Island years ago for their mission.

“Shiganshina is still sealed.” Eren said as he opened his eyes. “Quinta and Holst are both silent and their gates are undamaged.” That ruled out three of the outermost districts with the only one left being the northernmost district, Tuath.

“Did they climb over Wall Maria too?” Annie had to ask herself, wondering why they’d go through the trouble of climbing over the abandoned Wall Maria with all of their supplies and equipment when they could’ve just broken in through one of the three abandoned gates with some effort. They had no choice but to climb over Wall Rose since the outer districts were still populated and under watch. But Wall Maria had been abandoned for years and no one would’ve noticed a break-in at all.

The thudding of hooves alerted both of them to Mikasa riding towards them on her horse.

“I checked ahead, but I still haven’t seen any signs of a breach or any damage to the wall itself.” Mikasa said with a stoic expression. Not finding anything at all was worrisome as it meant that the Walls could be scaled and their defenses weren’t much of a hindrance to their enemy.

“It’s good that the Wall isn’t breached. But if their Shifters can scale the Walls and bring their own soldiers and weapons over with them…” Eren was doing his best to maintain his composure and not give into anger and frustration that they’d been attacked and lost people to Marley without even realizing the enemy was within the Walls. “How fast would they be able to return to that pier you told us about?” He asked Annie after tamping down on his inner rage.

Annie took a moment to think as they rode along, still checking Wall Rose for any broken section, even though it now seemed unlikely that they’d find anything. “If they used the Prime Cart Titan’s power…they might be back or at least close to it by nightfall.”

“So they’re almost there.” Eren said as he looked at the sky that was turning orange and red as the sun had begun to set.

“Most likely.” Annie’s voice was controlled, but Eren could see the cold anger in his lover’s icy blue eyes.

Eren’s green eyes almost seemed to take on a crystallized appearance as he looked at Wall Rose with such intent that one could believe that Eren was looking straight through it and towards their fleeing enemy. “We will make them pay for this when the time comes.” The statement was an intense and powerful promise that made a slight electrical tingle pass through Annie’s body as the power of the Prime Founding Titan faintly reacted to Eren’s anger at the attack on his people.

“Eren…” Mikasa brought her horse close to Eren’s and leaned over enough to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. The two looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment and Eren calmed down a bit more.

“Thanks, Mikasa.” Eren managed to give Mikasa a small smile. “Let’s meet up with the next squad and then return to the temporary headquarters.”

Annie and Mikasa both agreed and with light taps of their heels into the sides of their horses, they sped up noticeably, the three horses now trotting quickly along the perimeter of Wall Rose.

-Erwin’s Command Post ~ Krolva District-

Connie and Sasha stood at attention before Commander Erwin, though it was clear that Connie wasn’t in a good mental state after what he’d been forced to do this morning. Erwin looked at the reports the two had handed in once more, comparing the main points after having read both of them.

“You two did well.” Erwin gave Sasha and Connie praise for saving half of Ragako Village and forcing the retreat of the enemy. “Having read your reports and checking the number of Titans killed against the last census of Ragako Village, the numbers match up. The enemy has a way to forcefully turn Eldians into Pure Titans with this strange smoke or vapor…that is a threat that we must address as soon as possible.”

Connie shuffled slightly in place and Erwin knew why.

“Soldier Springer.” Erwin said and Connie quickly met his Commander’s eyes.

“Sir?” Connie asked promptly.

Erwin’s look was professional, but his eyes conveyed his understanding of Connie’s pain for having made a decision that had resulted in the deaths of people he knew. “Your decision was correct.” Erwin said strongly, making Connie’s eyes widen. “You saw the threat that your fellow villagers had become and made the best choice that you could have in order to save the lives of the other villagers. They are all alive and safe within Krolva District now because of you and your actions.”

“Th-Thank you, sir.” Connie bit back a choked breath, small tears appearing in the corners of his eyes which he valiantly fought against allowing to fall.

“Soldier Braus, you did excellent in forcing the enemy’s retreat.” Erwin gave Sasha her due praise as well. “Because of you, we now have four prisoners that we may be able to gain valuable intelligence from.” Left unsaid was that the location of said prisoners was being kept strictly confidential so that no ‘accidents’ befell their Marleyan prisoners.

“Thank you, sir.” Sasha replied, still at attention. While she hadn’t known the villagers that had become Pure Titans, she still felt bad about having killed their own people. There wasn’t anything else they could do for them, but Sasha still didn’t feel good about it.

Erwin nodded, knowing that both new soldiers had now seen more of the horror of combat. What had long been thought of as an endless war against the Titans was now known to be an unending war against Marley and, most likely, a vast majority of the rest of the world too. But the cause of this battle didn’t matter in the face of the simple fact that lives had been lost.

“However,” Erwin’s voice steeled as he looked at his subordinates. “Both of you still went AWOL and stole military horses.” Connie and Sasha both tensed up visibly. “But…in light of your discovery of the enemy, protection of our land and people, and driving the enemy away; I’ve decided to lighten the punishment normally incurred by such actions this time only.” Sasha’s tension visibly eased, as did Connie’s to a less noticeable degree. “Both of you will be kept in confinement for one week. Use that time to come to terms with today to the best of your abilities.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Sasha and Connie saluted.

While Sasha and Connie were being led away for their confinement within the Survey Corps temporary headquarters within Krolva District; Erwin looked at the various reports that had come in, most written in the penmanship of various Squad Leaders, however the papers on the right were all written in Erwin’s hand. These were compiled notes of the various reports as well as the intel passed through the Attack Titans in secret.

‘Shiganshina is still sealed, and both Holst and Quinta are untouched. Tuath is likely the same given its northernmost position. What exactly was the enemy trying to gain with this infiltration and attack?’ Erwin pondered as he looked over the various reports that had come in over the last several hours. It was the one thing that he couldn’t figure out. Had they just wanted to infiltrate, it would’ve been easier to scale Wall Rose and then blend in with the people. But they’d attacked after their infiltration instead… ‘Was it meant to be a diversion? Or was it a test of this strange vapor or smoke that forcibly turns Eldians into Pure Titans? A weapons test, perhaps? Is the enemy already prepared to bring war to Paradis Island?’ That would be an absolute worst case scenario at the current time. They still needed to oust the current Monarchy, put Eren on the throne, take back the lands within Wall Maria, and expand to the shores of Paradis to build up their defenses with the resources available on the entirety of the island.

-Mitras ~ Assembly Hall-

“How did this happen?!” Deltoff, the supposed represented of the merchants throughout the Walls, demanded of the other three members of the Assembly. “Who approved this information being spread through the newspapers?!”

Gerald, the ‘representative’ for the Military, spoke next. “Because of the attack, a breach in the Walls was suspected, leading to all three Commanders agreeing to enact emergency military powers to deal with it.” He shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with what had happened. “I can’t interfere with that; it’s part of the Charter for the Survival of Humanity. Because of the emergency powers, Zackly and the Commanders printed exactly what was reported without having to pass it before the Assembly first.” The news had spread far too swiftly for anyone to stop it.

Aurille, still as tubby as most of the other nobles that he represented on the Assembly, nearly spat in his frustration and anger. “Who gave Zackly the authority to mobilize the press?! That should be strictly under the Monarchy’s control!”

Roderich, the representative of the ‘Wall Faith’ looked genuinely worried compared to the anger or frustration that the others were showing. “The Wall Faithful are starting to support the military as well… The more fanatical are praising the military for ‘defending the Walls from the heathen outsiders’! The faith is practically splitting right now and no one is willing to compromise. I can’t exert any control in this situation!”

“Damn it…” Aurille growled as he slammed his fist onto the armrest of his cushy chair. “We need to get this under control! What is Rod Reiss doing?!” The man was becoming almost as much of a figurehead as the fool that was sitting on the throne not five meters from the four of them, clearly zoned out as he always was.

“The Interior Police have stated that the information has already spread too far for them to contain it. We can’t silence this anymore.” Gerald said to his fellow Assembly members, his expression changing into a mix of frustration and desperation. “At this rate the military under Zackly will hold more sway than we do.”

Deltoff pointed sharply at Gerald for his words. “Shut your mouth! We’re not going to let this situation up end the hierarchy within the Walls!” That was the absolute last thing that any of them would allow!

“We shouldn’t squabble amongst ourselves.” Roderich said, looking between Gerald and Deltoff, the animosity between the two noblemen having grown over the course of the day. “We need to find a way to respond to this revelation of information to the masses. To show the people that the Monarchy is still in control.”

“How do we do that, exactly, Roderich?!” Aurille demanded of Roderich with a harsh glare. “Discontent is already swelling against the nobility because of this report! Do you have a plan of some kind?!”

Roderich’s silence made it clear that he didn’t.

Not once did the idea of sharing the massive amounts of supplies and food hoarded by the nobles with the commonfolk cross their minds.

-Marley Port ~ Paradis Island-

“S-Sir?!” The soldier on lookout cried out as the Cart Titan raced up the edge of the vertical wall and landed on top, revealing the injured state of the few Marley soldiers that had made it back. “Are you alright?! Where are the others?!”

“Do I look alright?!” The Officer demanded, nearly spitting in his pain and rage. “The others were killed by the Wall Devils! Now get out of the way!” He nearly shoved the soldier aside as he stalked down the stairs on the opposite side of the large wall. “We’re leaving! The Wall Devils have more Titans than they should!”

“What?!” Several soldiers that had overheard the Officer cried out in fear and panic.

“Shut up!” The Officer barked as he kept walking down the stairs. “Get the medical officer! My arm is broken!” He made it to the pier and headed for the ship. “We need to report this to the higher ups immediately! No w stand aside!” He clearly didn’t give a damn about his soldiers and only about getting his own injuries treated. “YOU DAMN ELDIANS!!! HURRY UP!!!” The Officer yelled up at Zeke and Pieck, spit flying from his mouth.

Pieck, still getting used to walking on two legs again, tried to hurry down the stairs. Her stumbling steps almost made her fall more than once.

Zeke, nearly lost in his own thoughts on what had happened this morning, barely changed his speed at all. There were too many questions swirling around in his head and he had no answers for them. The only thing that he knew for sure was that the plan to capture the Coordinate had failed.

‘Marley will need to invade Paradis Island far earlier than planned. The only way this situation could make sense is if the Founding Titan’s power has left the control of the Fritz bloodline.’ Zeke though to himself as he reached the pier and walked towards the ship.

Unfortunately for the Prime Beast Titan Shifter, by the time the contingent made it back to Marley, war with the Mid-East Alliance would already have begun. There would be nothing the country could do about Paradis while having lost most of their Titan Warriors. Without their full force of Titans, Marley’s offensive capabilities would be greatly weakened and the war would likely drag on for years.

It was time that Paradis would make the most of.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Things have gone off the rails now!

With a potential Wall breach, the three Commanders agree and Zackly enacts emergency military powers to act without the Assembly’s approval. That means they can mass release the truth to the people faster than it could ever hope to be stopped.

With a couple of plants among the people all throughout the Walls, the suppressed frustration and anger against the fat, incompetent nobles has finally found a release among the commonfolk!

The Military, and Eren Yeager specifically, are gaining a lot of support VERY fast!

Meanwhile, the Assembly are too busy being angry and trying to pass the blame onto each other to be effective. Not even considering that if they want to gain favor with the people, that they should perhaps share some of the vast resources they’ve taken for themselves.

As the Marley forces make it back to their ship, injured and terrified, they have no idea that they’re too late for their report to make a difference.

Marley is already at war with the Mid-East Alliance…they CAN’T launch an invasion of Paradis Island even if they wanted to.

With some time granted, can the current regime be toppled and Eren made King? Can Paradis Island be fully retaken and a new Eldia rise?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!