"???"
The three recruits stared blankly, as if their captain had just lost his mind.
Walking through Titan territory had already stretched their trust in him thin. But now, as cavalry thundered toward them, Zeke's orders pushed them into outright disbelief.
"Captain, that's the Eldian cavalry!" Bertolt cried out, face pale.
"They're the enemy! If they see us, they'll kill us on the spot!"
He hadn't forgotten for a second who they were: Marleyan warriors, enemies of Eldia, invaders sent to seize the Founding Titan.
Zeke snapped back, voice sharp like a whip: "Calm down! Our mission is infiltration.
We sneak into the Walls, find the Founding Titan, and nothing else. No pointless fights, no exposing ourselves."
"They'll kill us anyway!" Bertolt insisted, panic rising.
Wham!
Zeke's fist slammed into Bertolt's temple, sending him staggering. The boy clutched his head, vision swimming, his argument instantly forgotten.
"Listen well!" Zeke barked, looming over them. "From this moment on, you are not Marleyans. You are Eldians. Civilians born and raised inside these Walls. You forget Marley. You forget your mission. You forget your identities! That is the only way we infiltrate successfully. Do you understand?"
The three recruits froze, stunned into silence.
Zeke didn't wait for their answer. "Hide your guns. Don't let the Survey Corps lay eyes on them."
"Yes!" Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner scrambled to obey, quickly unloading the rifles and stuffing the pieces deep into their packs.
But once the weapons were hidden, dread only deepened.
Walking through Paradis in human form was already suicide. Without their guns, they had nothing left. No protection. No backup. Just their Titan powers—and even those had to stay secret.
It felt like stripping naked in the middle of a battlefield.
We're doomed, Reiner thought grimly.
Zeke clapped his hands, drawing their attention. "Good. Now, let's test you. If you're ordinary Eldians, what do you do when you run into a Titan outside the Walls?"
Bertolt immediately raised his hand. "Bite down and transform into a Titan!"
Smack! Zeke slapped him across the head. "Idiot! Without a spinal fluid injection, no one becomes a Titan!"
Reiner scowled. "That's for Marleyans. The people inside the Walls are different! Maybe they are born to turn into Titans." He bit his hand, teeth grazing skin.
Thud! Zeke's fist caught Reiner squarely in the chest, knocking the air out of him. "No! They're the same as us. Nobody here sprouts a Titan just by biting themselves!"
Bertolt groaned, clutching his head. "So… it's all the same?"
"Yes!" Zeke snapped, impatient. "One more time—what would ordinary Eldians do if they ran into a Titan?"
This time, Annie's calm voice cut in: "They'd panic. Scream. Run away, just like we did last night."
Zeke's face finally softened. "Exactly. They'd run." He clapped her on the shoulder approvingly.
"That's the answer."
The recruits exchanged uneasy glances, then—following orders—they bolted forward, directly toward the oncoming cavalry.
From behind, Zeke groaned.
"Idiots! Don't run in formation! You're not soldiers now, you're Eldian civilians!"
"Oh!" the three yelped, instantly trying to loosen their posture. But after two years of Marleyan military training, their bodies resisted.
Their arms still pumped in unison, their steps still fell in rhythm. Instead of panicked refugees, they looked like awkward actors trying—and failing—to pretend to be panicked.
Zeke buried his face in his palm. These brats are hopeless. The only thing they're good for is transforming into Titans…
Finally, his patience broke. He bellowed:
"Run, or I'll eat you myself!"
The recruits nearly tripped over their own feet.
Zeke charged after them, roaring, "Cowards! Deserters! You disobeyed my orders and abandoned me!
You let Marcel die! By military law, you should all be executed! I'll drag you back in pieces if I have to!"
"AHHHHH!"
Terror exploded in their chests.
They weren't thinking of Marley, Eldia, or even Titans anymore. All they knew was fear—the fear of their captain's wrath. Their orderly jog dissolved into chaos. Limbs flailed, breaths came ragged, and their legs carried them faster than they'd ever run before.
In that frenzy, they barreled straight into the path of the enemy horses.
"Uwahhh!"
The three stumbled, sprawling in the dirt. Above them, sunlight flashed against steel. Horses whinnied, hooves thundered—and suddenly the towering shadows of the Survey Corps loomed over them.
For a split second, time froze. Reiner, Annie, and Bertolt lay sprawled on the ground, blinking up at the mounted soldiers. Dust swirled in the golden light.
The raised horseshoes glinted.
And then—
"Ouch…" Reiner groaned, staring at the looming cavalry, the sun blinding his eyes.
The Survey Corps had arrived.