"Hey, hey, go easy on..."
Phok!
Kenny was tied up and knocked unconscious with the familiar blow to the back of the neck. Asahi handled the heavy lifting, and Grisha also lent a hand. The two tied up dozens of Military Police members together. It didn't take much time or effort, as they were all passed out and likely wouldn't wake up for a few hours.
Finished, Asahi cautiously went to check if anyone else was lurking around. Grisha stayed behind to keep an eye on the Reiss family.
Confirming that there would be no more disruptive factors, he returned to the underground cave and walked straight toward Rod Reiss without a word.
"You... what do you want?!"
Rod couldn't help but raise his voice. Asahi did not answer. As he took another step closer, Rod retreated, his mind falling into panic. The image of Asahi in his sight seemed to twist and distort under some invisible pressure, magnifying Asahi's figure, making the entire surrounding scene disappear.
In his eyes, there was only a black entity with two blue eyes constantly approaching.
Of course, this was another "trick" utilizing mental force that Asahi always used. This time, it was more intuitive, showing the opponent some terrifying image, constantly oppressing their psyche to cause panic, loss of focus, paranoia, impaired judgment, and intellect. If he were more ruthless, he could completely drive an ordinary person insane.
This method was often used in interrogation.
To resist this, one could only rely on their own will and spirit. Rod Reiss clearly lacked those.
Frieda, seeing the change in her father's expression, led the rest of the Reiss family toward the boundary between Asahi and Rod. She intended to use herself and her family to plead with him not to harm her father.
Although Rod Reiss made her uncomfortable, he was still her father.
"No need to worry, I only need to ask him a few things."
"You can absolutely ask me, I will surely answer all your questions..."
"No need."
As these three words dropped, Frieda's throat felt constricted. Not just her, but the entire Reiss family felt it. The mental oppression had done this.
It was a reminder to Frieda and the Reiss family that there was no need to "whine" to him. Asahi treated them well, being relatively gentle because it was his nature and his choice. But they could not, for that reason, impose upon him to do this or that, even if unconsciously.
As said before, everyone here was Asahi's hostage. How could he be interrogating a hostage only to be stopped because another hostage didn't want it?
Besides, Frieda had already provided him with enough information, at least the basics. As for the following matters, she might not know, but Rod Reiss certainly would.
"I want you to clearly state everything within the Walls. Everything, understood?"
Rod quickly nodded profusely, then began to clearly recount the situation inside the Walls. So much so that Frieda nearby was also stunned; was her father this "obedient"?
As for Asahi, his expression beneath his armor was not good. The situation inside the Walls was worse than he had imagined.
The thing was, the migration to Paradise Island did not only include the Eldian people. It also involved a few other ethnic groups. These groups had either submitted to the old Eldian Empire or were allies working together.
After the Walls were built and the Vow to Renounce War took effect, the Founding Titan could no longer utilize its power to control mindless Titans, significantly weakening the Royal Family's influence.
From this, another problem arose.
The Founding Titan could erase the memories of the Eldian people, meaning the Royal Family held an invincible position. Even if the population was dissatisfied or even organized a rebellion, erasing those memories would reset everything to zero.
However, the memory manipulation only affected the Eldian people, not the other ethnic groups. Therefore, to appease these non-Eldian groups, King Fritz elevated them to noble status, granting them near-supreme privileges within the Walls.
The nobles needed the Royal Family so that their privileges could be maintained forever, and the Royal Family needed the nobles to manage the population within the Walls. A mutually beneficial relationship emerged.
However, some ethnic groups disagreed with this decision. And naturally, those groups were jointly exterminated by the Royal Family and the nobles, leaving only a few surviving seeds. One of those was the Ackerman family.
Upon hearing that Kenny Ackerman, the captain of the Military Police branch he had just defeated, was one of them, Asahi was slightly surprised but then found it normal. Kenny's attitude toward the Royal Family was less than reverent and respectful.
That was not the most important thing. The important thing was that the current situation was not good. The government inside the Walls was rotten to the core, and the populace was ignorant due to having their memories wiped clean. Outside the Walls, a massive power like Marley was watching intently, just waiting to seize the Founding Titan. The attack on Shiganshina and the breach of Wall Maria was their first offensive move.
Asahi had plugged the hole, but if that Armored Titan repeated the wall-breaking action once more, everything would be for naught.
While Asahi was pondering the next steps he should take, far away from the cave, at a refugee camp for Shiganshina residents, three figures were stealthily discussing.
Although completely shrouded in darkness, their vague shapes made it clear that the three people consisted of two males and one female.
Their figures were not very tall, appearing to be children or teenagers.
However, the content of their conversation was explosive in nature. If exposed, it could absolutely create a crisis.
"Damn it, the hole we painstakingly created... is gone."
"What do we do now? Create another hole?"
"Too risky. As long as that person still exists, the hole could be sealed up again. Besides, we are too far from Wall Maria now."
Mentioning "that person" caused a shiver to run down the spines of all three, as if a sharp knife was pressed against their necks. Understandably so; the combat power Asahi displayed at the Battle of Shiganshina surpassed the comprehension of everyone who witnessed it, including these three.
Truthfully, none of the three wanted to clash with Asahi again. However, they could not help but continue moving forward. Because there were things more valuable than life itself to them.
They had no way out.
Hesitating for a moment, one of the teenagers spoke up.
"Stick to the plan as decided. Wait a while to see if the situation stabilizes enough to launch another offensive. We must cause chaos among them; only then will there be more openings to search for King Fritz's location."
"We must obtain... the Founding Titan."