"Crunch… crunch…"
The Titan feasted noisily.
Stanley was no match for it. In fact, he didn't resist at all—he froze in terror and was grabbed and bitten in one motion. Even a three-meter Titan possessed strength far beyond that of a normal human. Once caught, escape was impossible. All that awaited him was being eaten.
Kenny's men had already retreated far away. Their faces were deathly pale; some even vomited on the spot.
These elite Military Police officers were deadly against people, but when it came to Titans, their experience might not even match that of a fresh Scout recruit. Most had never truly seen one before. Watching this scene was psychologically overwhelming—and their fear of Lillian deepened even further.
Giving someone hope, only to strip it away mercilessly—this was cruelty at its purest.
"Haha, that's the end of it," Kenny said, glancing at Lillian with mild surprise at his expression. "What's wrong? You got your revenge, but you don't look happy."
"Revenge can't bring back what's already been lost."
"Huh?" Kenny was puzzled. "Then why go through all this trouble? You're unhappy, and you've made a mess for yourself."
"Kenny, whether I'm happy doesn't matter," Lillian said. "What matters is that this revenge had to be carried out."
He truly wasn't happy. Seeing these people only reminded him of Karen, which made the pain worse.
But as he said—some things have nothing to do with emotion. They're things you must do.
"Still, I had a pretty good time watching," Kenny laughed. "By the way, when did you get that Titan? I didn't even know about it. Don't tell me you went outside the walls, grabbed one, and tossed it in here? Hahaha—hey, it's coming toward us."
Lillian drew a dagger from his waist, also made of black-gold bamboo. In a flash, he appeared behind the Titan and effortlessly sliced open the nape of its neck.
"It's time to go back."
He wiped the blood from the dagger on a corpse's clothing and said to Kenny, "Take care of this. Just bury them somewhere."
"Yeah."
Kenny acknowledged softly, watching Lillian walk away. That kid really was ruthless.
And strong.
Maybe following him… really would let me see the scenery you were searching for, Uri.
---
"I'm looking for Deputy Commander Lillian!"
"He's not here. Come back later."
"I have urgent business!"
At headquarters, Zachary's aide arrived only to find that Lillian was gone. Naturally, the guards refused to let him enter freely.
Just then, Annie happened to notice the commotion.
Just like Lillian, she hadn't been sleeping well these past few days.
Of course, Lillian's sleeplessness came from the immense pressure he placed on himself and the overwhelming amount of work he handled every day. As for her, it was Carly's words from before that had left her restless and uneasy. Ever since returning from the prison, she would frequently space out, her thoughts drifting uncontrollably.
So tonight, she once again found it hard to fall asleep. After practicing kicks in the training room for two hours, she went downstairs to walk it off—and happened to see this scene.
"What do you need Lillian for?" she asked as she walked over.
"Captain!"
The guard on duty immediately snapped to attention and saluted when he saw her.
The Military Police in the Stohess District had undergone a massive purge recently. Aside from positions that required specialized experience, nearly all personnel had been replaced with people from Klaus's faction. These soldiers might not be absolutely loyal to Lillian, but they were far more reliable than the old veterans.
As power consolidated, Annie and Marlo were both promoted to captain, while Hitch, Robert, and others became squad leaders. At this point, the entire leadership structure consisted of Lillian's own people. The Stohess District had truly become his personal "backyard."
"Captain…"
Zachary's aide looked at Annie, his heart tightening. As the president's personal guard, he knew the truth about the Titans—and at a glance, he recognized that Annie was one of them.
Fear flickered in his eyes, but he maintained his composure.
"I was sent by President Zachary. I have urgent intelligence that must be delivered to Deputy Commander Lillian."
"He's not here right now," Annie replied. When she had come downstairs, she had deliberately checked Lillian's office—it was dark. She had no idea where he had gone. "If it's intelligence, you can tell me."
"This…"
The aide hesitated. Ideally, he wanted to speak to Lillian directly. But time was critical, and waiting wasn't an option. Besides, since the Titans were on Lillian's side, he ultimately nodded.
"Very well. Please relay this to Deputy Commander Lillian once he returns."
He stepped aside with Annie and spoke quickly:
"Deputy Commander Lillian's secret arrests of high-ranking military officials have caused extreme outrage within the army. They are now preparing to jointly deploy troops to suppress the Stohess District."
"..."
Annie frowned. She knew nothing about any secret arrests—Lillian had never mentioned this to her.
"I hope you make preparations as soon as possible," the aide continued. "Also, President Zachary strongly urges you not to use Titans in combat. If that happens, the situation will spiral beyond recovery. That's all. I'll be taking my leave now. Please make sure to inform Deputy Commander Lillian."
"Understood. Thank you."
Annie watched as the aide saluted, turned, and disappeared into the dark night.
A military suppression was no joke.
Even though Annie still had no idea what kind of trouble Lillian had stirred up this time, and even though the two of them were still at odds, when it was time to act, action was required.
She immediately ordered the guards at headquarters to wake the others. She herself went to rouse Historia and Ymir—she knew how important the two of them were. As for Lillian, wherever he was now, there was no way to track someone as elusive as him. They could only wait for him to return on his own.
Ten minutes later, the unit's officers had all gathered in the headquarters hall.
"Annie, are you saying that soldiers from other districts' Garrison and Military Police units are all going to be transferred here to suppress us?" Marlo asked.
When she nodded, his face darkened immediately.
"What are they trying to do?! On what grounds?!"
Seeing this, Annie thought to herself that Marlo clearly didn't know either. Sure enough—this had to be another stunt pulled by Lillian and Kenny.
The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed that they really had secretly arrested quite a few high-ranking officials. Annie hadn't interacted much with Kenny, but she knew exactly what kind of person he was—a man who existed to do dirty work, the kind of things that couldn't be brought into the light.
What's more—
Back when the Warrior trio first entered the walls, during that year of farming and fieldwork, she had often snuck into the capital to search for clues about the Founding Titan. Once, she had successfully followed Kenny—but nearly got caught. If she hadn't escaped through the sewers, her Titan identity would have been exposed back then.
Because of that, she'd never had a good impression of Kenny. Fortunately, he stayed in the capital most of the time, so the two rarely crossed paths.
"So what do we do now?" Hitch asked. "We can't just let them suppress us, right?"
"Of course not!"
Robert, now a squad leader, spoke with even more bluntness than before. "Why should we be afraid of them? If they dare come, we hit them back!"
"But the deputy commander isn't here—we can't make decisions on our own…"
"So what, do nothing?"
"It's probably already too late at the gates," Ymir said calmly. "If the Garrison is involved, they've likely already opened the gates. Going there now would just get us ambushed. The best course is to immediately establish defenses around headquarters, fortifying the streets in both directions."
"That makes sense…"
"Then let's do it!"
Marlo slammed the table. "Everyone, set up defenses immediately! I believe the deputy commander will be back soon! Even if he isn't, we have more than enough strength to deal with them!"
"..."
Annie frowned slightly at his confidence. She had no idea where it was coming from.
Of course, she didn't know that Bertholdt's Titan power had been inherited by Marlo. When Lillian had mentioned the inheritance before, she had panicked and never asked who received it.
Marlo, on the other hand, had been strictly ordered by Lillian to tell no one—so he kept silent. Still, possessing that power inevitably changed a person. That was why he spoke with such confidence now.
Clatter—clatter—clatter!
Nearly two hundred Military Police sprang into action. They hauled sandbags out of the warehouses and erected barricades along the streets. Weapons and ammunition were checked at speed. A few soldiers even began rolling out cannons—only to be immediately scolded by Hitch.
After all, in her view, an actual firefight was unlikely. And even if it did happen, guns were one thing—but cannons? The surrounding area was full of residential buildings. One shot, and it wouldn't be "worth a fortune in gold"—it would be civilian deaths.
Meanwhile, as defenses were rapidly constructed, the outer gate and inner gate of the Stohess District were opened simultaneously.
Military Police and Garrison troops from various districts poured in, even mixed with private forces belonging to noble families.
Altogether, their numbers approached a thousand.
Leading them were Military Police Commander Nile and Southern District Commander Pixis. One entered through the inner gate, the other through the outer gate, forming a pincer movement as they advanced toward the Military Police headquarters at the center of the district.
In addition to them, Levi arrived with his elite squad and the 104th Cadets.
Of course, Erwin's orders were clear: they were not to engage in conventional combat. They were only to intervene if Titans appeared. Even so, many soldiers—especially those from the 104th—couldn't understand the situation at all.
But with the emergency unfolding, there was no time for explanations. Levi could only give a brief outline.
As both forces entered the district, the streets were placed under lockdown.
Local Garrison soldiers in the Stohess District had long disliked Lillian, and now actively assisted the incoming troops, advancing together toward Military Police headquarters. A portion of the forces was also left behind to seal the gates, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
And so—
Outside the walls, Lillian stood before the tightly shut outer gate. He looked up at the soldiers atop the wall, their rifles aimed directly at him, and slowly rolled his wrist.
"I think you've all gotten tired of living."