"This is…!"
Even under the cover of darkness, the distant commotion—nearly a thousand meters away—was clear enough to make every member of the Survey Corps tense. The scene was eerily reminiscent of the chaos when the three special Titans appeared during the battle in the Stohess District. A sense of foreboding crept into everyone's heart.
"They're acting this fast…"
Standing outside the tent, Lock narrowed his eyes as he observed the distant disturbance. He called toward the tent, "Petra, stay with Ymir. I need to head out for a bit."
"Lock, you—"
Before Petra could finish, Lock had already disappeared into the darkness, moving with speed that left only the rustling of the tent flaps behind.
Ymir crossed her arms and muttered with a smirk, "What else could he be up to? Definitely something no one else is supposed to know about."
Yawning, she ducked back inside, clearly unbothered. Her identity was sensitive enough that it wouldn't be long before the others swarmed the area anyway.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, Levi and other squad members arrived, weapons at the ready. After confirming Ymir was still inside, their shoulders loosened slightly, but their expressions remained grim.
Since Ymir hadn't left, there were only two possibilities for the abnormal activity ahead.
The first possibility: the Female Titan's comrades had doubled back to rescue her. That seemed unlikely—if any Titan had scaled the wall and entered, the perimeter patrol would have already fired signal flares. Since no such flares had gone up, this scenario could be dismissed.
The second possibility was the one Erwin and Levi dreaded the most: the Female Titan had escaped on her own.
In either case, the next move depended entirely on Commander Erwin.
By principle, the Survey Corps wasn't required to interfere with Central Military Police operations. But tensions had been high since their arrival at Wall Rose. Earlier that day, their entry had led to conflicts, and many members were reluctant to cooperate. Most of them didn't even grasp how serious the situation truly was.
In their minds, what kind of danger could a young woman pose?
While the Survey Corps waited for orders, Lock was already galloping toward the source of the commotion.
What he found was a grisly scene—corpses of Central Military Police strewn about, tents torn apart, the ground littered with debris. His expression remained cold as he steered his horse toward a trembling soldier standing at the camp gate.
"What happened here?" Lock asked, his voice calm but piercing.
"A h-huge… Titan suddenly appeared!" The man's voice shook with fear, his eyes wide.
It was no surprise. The Central Military Police were ill-equipped to handle pure Titans, let alone intelligent ones. Their firearms and lack of combat experience made them easy prey. Kenny Ackerman might be able to adapt quickly under pressure, but his subordinates? They were nothing more than lambs before a predator.
"Where's the Titan now?" Lock's eyes hardened with contempt.
He despised soldiers who acted tough in groups but collapsed the moment real danger arrived.
"It… ran… ran that way!" the man stammered, pointing shakily.
Lock didn't waste another second. He spurred his horse forward in the direction indicated.
The night sky was starless, the forest cloaked in darkness. But Lock had long trained to fight in such conditions. His night vision and battlefield instincts were razor-sharp; the darkness barely hindered him.
The horse, however, was another story. It wasn't built for optimal speed, and he could only push it so far. Still, the evidence of the Female Titan's path was unmistakable: massive footprints stamped deep into the ground, shredded vegetation, and broken branches carved out a clear escape trail. There were signs of pursuit too—hoofprints, crushed undergrowth, and scattered cartridge casings.
Most likely, Kenny Ackerman and his squad were already chasing her.
Lock's gaze grew sharp and cold. He pressed the horse faster, the rhythmic pounding of hooves echoing through the forest.
"It's only been a few minutes. She shouldn't have gotten far…"
Lock squinted ahead. "She's heading west—toward Wall Rose. She's planning to escape."
It made sense. The mission had failed spectacularly, Marley's infiltration was exposed, and Annie's identity was revealed. In that situation, retreating to Marley territory was her only option.
As he followed the trail, Lock passed more fallen Central Military Police soldiers, bodies mangled by Titan attacks or crushed by chaos. Some horses lay dead on the roadside, their legs twisted at unnatural angles. The deeper he went, the more violent the signs of battle became. Eventually, flickers of torchlight appeared ahead.
Several wounded Central Military Police soldiers without mounts were gathered there, hurriedly treating their injuries.
The moment they heard approaching hooves, they snapped their heads toward the sound.
"Survey Corps!" one of them shouted, recognizing Lock's uniform. The leader stepped forward, gun raised nervously.
"Stop! Captain Kenny ordered no reinforcements from your side—"
Before the man could finish, Lock charged past without slowing. The soldier reflexively aimed his dual guns, but a flash of steel cut across his vision. A heartbeat later, white-hot pain tore through his forearms—his weapons clattered to the ground as he screamed.
"AAAHH! Bastard! How dare you!!"
Lock ignored the curses. His focus was entirely on the battlefield ahead. He could already feel it—he was close.
"Kenny should be engaging Annie by now," Lock thought coldly. "After all, he's almost on par with Levi. Against a Female Titan who hasn't fully unleashed her power yet… he should be able to stall her."
The forest grew more devastated with every meter—trees snapped like twigs, the earth churned and gouged by powerful impacts. The air carried a faint tremor, like distant thunder.
Lock tightened his grip on the reins, eyes fixed ahead. The final confrontation between Annie Leonhart and Kenny Ackerman was close.
And he intended to be right in the middle of it.
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