Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots rang out, bullets slicing through the air and flying into the sky. The dull report left everyone momentarily stunned, including the few youths with ill intent.
A warning shot.
Lillian raised the rifle, not shooting directly at them. He was not a killer; in fact, if it weren't a matter of personal safety, he wouldn't have killed anyone.
At this moment, these youths seemed both pitiful and ignorant, so he first gave a warning.
"I will warn you again. I report directly to His Majesty the King, and I am a soldier of the Special Regiment with full law enforcement authority. Take one more step forward, and I will execute you on the spot according to royal law!"
Lillian's tone was cold, his expression firm, completely serious.
The few youths hesitated: three stepped back, while the remaining two exchanged a glance and still continued forward!
"Then don't blame me."
Without further hesitation, Lillian aimed at the two and fired decisively.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Flames erupted from the barrel. The two had no idea what kind of weapon he held. They didn't even dodge, and the bullets tore through their chests and faces. After a few gurgles, they collapsed, twitching briefly before going still.
"Ahhhh…"
Nearly a thousand people stepped back in fear, eyes filled with awe at Lillian and his rifle. The three youths who had stepped back looked as pale as ghosts. If they hadn't retreated, they would now be lying on the ground as well.
Killing in an instant — such a display of unimaginable power. Everyone thought: this child could kill us all! This was the power of a god!
Of course, that was exactly the effect Lillian wanted. He didn't want these people to know that each magazine only had twenty to thirty bullets, and once empty, he would have to reload. With only three magazines in total, if this group attacked together, they could tear him apart in seconds.
But thankfully, the unknown, overwhelming power terrified them.
"I repeat! The Operation to Reclaim Wall Maria is over. I am here to save you. Follow me immediately, and return inside the walls!"
Hearing his words, the crowd erupted in cheers, some even crying with relief.
"Wonderful! Finally, we can go home!"
"At last… I can see my child…"
"Thanks to the Empire! Thanks to His Majesty the King!"
"Thank you for coming all this way to rescue us!"
The crowd erupted into near-mad jubilation. Even their earlier wariness toward Lillian evaporated in an instant, replaced with reverence. Though he was merely a child, at this moment, in their eyes, he was the noblest presence in that place, the embodiment of hope itself.
"Hope for survival…"
Lillian observed them. The despondency that had weighed so heavily upon these people transformed almost immediately into vitality once hope was in sight. The power of psychological suggestion is astonishing.
Indeed, this very psychological shift was the key to their survival.
What king's territory? What special corps soldiers? What finished battle? None of it was true—everything Lillian had said was a fabrication.
It was all to cultivate hope, the hope that would compel them to struggle, to endure. And once that hope ignited their strength and united them, Lillian, even as a single individual, could survive by riding the current of their collective will.
"I am Lillian Kafka. Remember my name. Come, I will lead you home!"
With a grand sweep of his hand, the people behind him shouted in unison and fell in step, turning toward the wall.
Over a thousand people moved together. Lillian kept a vigilant eye through his binoculars. Several times, he spotted traces of Titans and immediately guided the crowd to detour.
If a Titan appeared to the left, they would veer right; if to the right, then left; if ahead, they would sidestep.
In short, for a group of defenseless civilians, the only strategy against Titans was avoidance. Even soldiers of the Survey Corps, mounted on horses and equipped with omni-directional mobility gear, relied on signal flares to mark Titan positions and then dodged.
Thanks to this constant vigilance, they avoided contact for more than an hour, which only strengthened the people's faith in Lillian, elevating him to a pillar of morale.
Plop!
Suddenly, someone collapsed, and the crowd cried out in alarm. Lillian turned to see a middle-aged woman lying motionless on the ground.
"What's wrong with her?!"
He dashed over to check. Beside her, a man in his forties clutched his face, pain etched in his expression. "She… has no strength left. She hasn't eaten in two days…"
"…"
Lillian fell silent for a moment. He pulled a black loaf of bread from his backpack and a bottle of water. "Give her just a little at a time," he instructed.
The people's eyes lit up at the sight of food and water, only to dim again as reality set in.
They could see that the backpack was small. Even if it were filled entirely with bread, it would hold only a dozen pieces at most—far too little for such a large group. And they dared not covet anything; the two youths who had succumbed to greed before were now corpses lying in this plain.
Once fed, the woman's complexion visibly improved, but she would not awaken immediately.
Frowning, Lillian asked the group, "Are you all very hungry? How many days has it been since you last ate?"
"Three days…"
"Three days for me too."
"I finished the last ration yesterday."
"Two days without food."
Voices overlapped in response. Lillian felt a faint relief. At worst, it had been only three days—dangerous, yes, but survivable. Still, if they continued, more would collapse, and the small amount of food in his backpack would be insufficient.
He paused, then asked, "Do you want to make it back alive?"
The people exchanged glances, puzzled by the question. Who wouldn't want to survive?
"I know your answers are yes," Lillian continued. "But survival is not something two people can achieve alone. It requires the effort and strength of everyone, combined—each for all, all for each. Therefore…" His gaze swept across the group. "If you still have food, I want you to share it with everyone. Because if others starve and cannot move, no matter how full you are, you will only become Titan food. But if the rations are shared equally, everyone may be hungry, but everyone will retain the strength to move."
"…"
Silence fell over the crowd.
Those who had already eaten naturally sided with him, and they were in the majority. Those still holding food were inwardly resentful, but… could they really refuse?
Though Lillian spoke as if consulting them, could anyone truly deny him? Refusal would mean, not only would Lillian's strength overcome them, but even the hungry people nearby would subdue them and seize the rations.
In such circumstances, the few must yield to the many.
Lillian observed as those with remaining food gradually laid it down. The hungry watched with wide, eager eyes, yet no one dared touch a single piece.
"One by one," Lillian said. He divided the food into small portions; each person could only take a little, enough for a few bites. But at least everyone gained some energy.
Some were lightly hungry, some heavily, and a few were full. The choice was obvious—ensuring the majority had strength, even if all were slightly hungry, was far better for survival.
Even among those who offered their rations, some surely wrestled with doubt, but there was no choice. Lillian could not cater to individual feelings here.
After more than half an hour, the rations were distributed. Spirits renewed, they resumed walking.
As they moved, Lillian thought: the distance from the coast to the wall is easily hundreds of kilometers. At the group's pace—five or six kilometers per hour on foot—even walking ten hours a day, it would take two full days to reach the wall.
Yet this estimate was overly optimistic. First, the food issue remained; at this exertion, they would soon be too weak to continue. Second, the Titans' threat loomed—the gravest danger of all.
It should be noted that the reason they hadn't encountered any Titans so far was: first, Lillian's ability to issue early warnings; second—and more importantly—this area was close to the coast, sparsely populated, and therefore sparsely patrolled by Titans.
But as they drew closer to the walls, the number of Titans would increase exponentially. When Titans surrounded them on all sides, what use would early warning be? No matter how they tried, there would be no way to avoid them.
Moreover, the wall they were approaching was Wall Maria. Yet… it was now the year 846, and Wall Maria had already been breached by Colossal and Armored Titans. The territory inside was overrun with Titans.
In other words, the group had to reach Wall Rose to survive…
No wonder survival was so difficult. Otherwise, so many wouldn't have died—two hundred twenty-five thousand people, and at most only a hundred or so might make it back alive.
However, from Lillian's conversations with the survivors, he realized that this group was not the entirety of the two hundred twenty-five thousand. In fact, shortly after leaving Wall Rose, they had been attacked by Titans and scattered, fleeing in all directions.
The group before him had simply run aimlessly, seeking any path to escape. Originally nearly thirty thousand, it now numbered fewer than a thousand—a grim testament to the massacre that had befallen them.
Lillian couldn't help but think: if all two hundred twenty-five thousand had stayed together, perhaps even using only brute force, they could have slain a number of Titans.
But that was an ideal scenario, assuming that everyone was a fearless automaton. The human psyche is fragile, prone to collapse; the domino effect of panic is not to be underestimated.
And yet, in the present moment—
"Ahhhhh!"
A sudden scream of terror cut through the air. Lillian immediately raised his binoculars, scanning toward the right from where the cry had come. In the distance—a Titan was sprinting toward them at a terrifying speed!