"Bang bang bang!"
Three shots fired in quick succession, the bullets slicing through the air and soaring into the sky. The muffled reports startled everyone, including the few ill-intentioned youths.
A warning shot.
Rayan raised the muzzle of his gun, not aiming directly at them. After all, he was no homicidal maniac. In fact, unless his life was threatened, he was unwilling to kill anyone.
At this moment, these youths appeared pitiful and ignorant to him, so he gave them a warning first.
"I warn you again. I am a soldier of the Special Corps, directly under the jurisdiction of His Majesty the King, with full law enforcement authority. If you take another step forward, I will execute you on the spot according to the law."
Rayan's tone was cold and firm, his expression stern without a trace of jest.
Seeing this, the youths hesitated. Three of them quickly retreated, while the remaining two exchanged a glance and still stepped forward.
"Then do not blame me."
Without hesitation, Rayan aimed and fired.
"Bang bang bang bang bang!"
Flames burst from the muzzle. The two had no idea what kind of weapon Rayan was using. They did not even attempt to dodge. Bullets tore through their chests and faces. After a few spasms, their bodies collapsed to the ground, twitching briefly before falling still.
"Aaaaaah..."
Nearly a thousand people cried out in fright, stumbling back several steps. All eyes turned to Rayan and the weapon in his hand, filled with awe and terror. The three youths who had retreated earlier turned deathly pale. Had they hesitated a moment longer, they would be lying cold on the ground as well.
Killing in an instant was an overwhelming display of power. Everyone thought the same thing.
This child could kill them all.
He was like a god in their eyes.
Of course, that was exactly what Rayan intended. He did not want them to realize that his magazine only held twenty or thirty bullets and needed to be reloaded when empty. He only had three magazines in total. If these people rushed him all at once, they could tear him apart in seconds.
Thankfully, the illusion of invincible power had taken root in their hearts.
"I repeat. The Wall Maria Reclamation Operation is over. I am here to rescue you. You will immediately follow me and return inside the walls."
The crowd erupted into cheers, some even weeping with joy.
"Great! We can finally go back!"
"I can finally see my children again."
"Thank the Empire! Thank His Majesty the King!"
"Thank you for saving us!"
Their fear turned to fervent gratitude. Though he was only a child, in their eyes now, Rayan was the supreme being who would lead them home.
"The hope of survival..."
Rayan looked at the crowd. Their faces, once full of despair, now radiated vitality at the promise of hope. The power of psychological suggestion was truly immense.
And right now, that suggestion was the key to survival.
What royal decree? What special corps? What operation? It was all lies, all fabricated by Rayan.
All to give them hope. To keep them moving. To make them fight to survive. And in their strength, Rayan could also survive.
"I am Rayan Kafka. Remember my name. Let us go. I will take you home."
Rayan waved his hand, and the people behind him shouted with joy, rallying behind him as they turned and began their march back to the walls.
Thousands of people moved forward. Rayan constantly scanned the surroundings with his binoculars. Whenever he spotted traces of titans, he led the group in a detour.
If titans appeared on the left, they veered right. If titans appeared on the right, they went left. If titans blocked their path, they circled around.
For a group of unarmed civilians facing titans, there was only one strategy.
Avoidance.
Even the Survey Corps, equipped with horses and vertical maneuvering gear, would mark titan locations with flares and evade them whenever possible.
Thanks to early warnings, they walked for over an hour without encountering any titans. The crowd's trust in Rayan grew even stronger. He had become their spiritual pillar.
"Thump!"
Suddenly, someone collapsed. Gasps rippled through the crowd. Rayan rushed over to see a middle-aged woman lying motionless on the ground.
"What is wrong with her?"
Rayan crouched beside her. A man in his forties covered his face and said in anguish, "She... she has not eaten for two days."
Rayan fell silent for a moment. Then he opened his backpack and pulled out a piece of black bread and a bottle of water.
"Feed her slowly. A little at a time."
The crowd's eyes lit up at the sight of food and water, only to dim moments later. They could see how small Rayan's backpack was. Even if it were packed full, it would barely hold a dozen loaves of bread.
Far from enough for thousands of people.
Moreover, none dared entertain any evil thoughts. The corpses of the two reckless youths lying on the ground were warning enough.
After the woman swallowed some food and water, her complexion visibly improved, but she remained unconscious.
Rayan frowned and asked the crowd, "Is everyone very hungry? How long since you last ate?"
"Three days without food..."
"Me too... three days."
"Yesterday we finished our last rations."
"Two days without eating..."
One by one, they answered. Rayan felt a slight sense of relief.
The longest anyone had gone without food was three days. It was critical but not hopeless. However, they were on the brink. If things continued like this, more people would collapse, and the little food he carried would not last long.
After a moment of thought, Rayan asked, "Does everyone want to go back alive?"
The crowd looked at each other. The answer was obvious. Of course they wanted to survive.
"I know the answer is yes," Rayan continued. "But going back alive is not something one or two people can achieve. It requires everyone to work together, to support each other. Everyone for me, and I for everyone. Only then can we survive."
His sharp gaze swept over the crowd.
"Those who still have food, I ask you to bring it out and share it with everyone. Because if others collapse from hunger, even if you are full, you will be left alone as titan fodder. But if we share, maybe we will all stay hungry, but at least we will have enough strength to move."
Silence fell over the crowd.
Those who had no food immediately sided with him. They were the majority. Those few who still had food were unwilling, but could they really refuse?
Rayan's words seemed like a suggestion.
In truth, it was an order.
If anyone dared refuse, not only would they face Rayan's gun, but also the wrath of hundreds of desperate people.
In this situation, the minority had no choice but to obey.
Slowly, one after another, those who still had food took it out and placed it on the ground. Hungry eyes lit up, but no one dared move prematurely.
"One by one," Rayan ordered.
The food was divided equally. Each person received only a small piece, finished in just a few bites. But it was enough. Enough to keep walking.
Slight hunger for everyone was better than a few being full and the rest collapsing.
It was not even a choice. It was survival.
Of course, some of those who gave up their food were disgruntled, but Rayan could not worry about their feelings.
It took half an hour for the rationing to finish. Everyone regained some strength, and the group continued their slow march.
Rayan calculated in his mind.
From the seaside to the walls, it was at least one hundred kilometers. At the current pace, about five to six kilometers per hour, even walking ten hours a day would take two days.
But that was an optimistic estimate.
First, the problem of food would worsen. After a day of walking, they would be exhausted and too hungry to continue.
Second, and more critically, there was the threat of titans.
The reason they had not encountered any yet was partly thanks to Rayan's early warnings, but mostly because they were near the sparsely populated coast.
The closer they got to the walls, the more titans they would encounter. When there were titans in every direction, how could they possibly avoid them?
Moreover, the walls they were heading toward were Wall Maria.
And it was already the year 846.
Wall Maria had been destroyed by the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan. It was now crawling with titans.
In other words, their real destination had to be Wall Rose.
A brutal journey lay ahead.
Otherwise, so many people would not have died during the operation. Two hundred fifty thousand people had been sent out, and only a hundred or so survived.
However, Rayan learned through conversations that this group was only a part of the original force.
Soon after leaving Wall Rose, they were ambushed by titans, and the formation scattered. People fled in all directions.
This thousand-strong group had once been nearly thirty thousand, and now they were but a pitiful remnant.
Rayan could not help but think.
If those two hundred fifty thousand had stayed together, maybe they could have overwhelmed many titans by sheer numbers alone.
But that was a fantasy.
People were fragile. Fear could topple them faster than titans could.
The domino effect was real.
But now...
"Aaaaaaaah!"
A terrified scream shattered the air.
Rayan immediately raised his binoculars, scanning toward the right where the cry had come from.
In the distance.
A titan was charging toward them at high speed.
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