Chapter 10: Young Lady, Do You Know What Despair Is
Early the next morning at 4 AM, inside Rose Wall.
A gentle breeze blew, and occasional wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of civilian homes. The commoners within the wall began their new day early, trembling with fear.
Although three holes had been kicked into Rose Wall, due to the contractors' defense, no giants had flooded inside. The nobles within the innermost Sina Wall would never allow commoners to enter, and the old district beneath Rose Wall would only open in the direst of emergencies.
Once that opened, the royal family's stored grain would have to be consumed. Before giants surged into Rose Wall, the royalty would not choose to let commoners enter there.
The commoners within Rose Wall could only return to their homes and start their new day under the threat of giants.
This bright morning did not dispel the gloom in the commoners' hearts. The shadow of the giants loomed over everyone's minds. When would they attack?
Though dangerous, life had to go on.
At this time, on the inner ring of Rose Wall atop Sina Wall, the Military Police Brigade was stationed along the wall. Though they wore "Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear," they carried outdated firearms.
These outdated firearms could not deal with giants, but they were effective against humans. In other words, the Military Police had no intention of fighting giants to the death. They only needed to "monitor" the Survey Corps, who were forced to remain on the wall.
Nile Dawk, as the commander of the Military Police Brigade, wielded power within the wall that even surpassed some nobles. He was the most obedient lackey under the royal family's command.
Nile Dawk carried a single-shot rifle, his gaze occasionally sweeping toward the Survey Corps commander, Erwin Smith.
He and Erwin were former comrades from the Training Corps. After completing their training, they chose different paths. Erwin, the top graduate of their class, joined the Survey Corps, while he chose the Military Police.
The Survey Corps was dedicated to expeditions beyond the walls, constantly exploring the truth of this world. Because they frequently engaged giants in battle, their mortality rate was extremely high, so few joined.
The Military Police guarded the royal family and eliminated "unstable elements" within the walls—such as scholars who invented advanced technology or cults promoting free thought. Right or wrong, anyone hostile to the royalty was their enemy.
Nile Dawk and Erwin had once been friends, but now their differing stances put them at odds.
"Erwin, don't even think about the holes in the wall. Letting Levi and Hange Zoe take a small detachment of the Survey Corps to support was already the greatest leniency I could offer.
Now that Rose Wall is breached, protecting the royal family's safety is the Military Police's top priority. If the situation becomes critical, the Military Police will only evacuate civilians to the underground old city."
When Rose Wall was breached, the Military Police should have been the first to charge forward. Their duty was to protect the interior and maintain order within the walls.
But an order changed everything. The nobles within Sina Wall and the royal family jointly commanded that all Military Police members garrison Sina Wall and restrain the Survey Corps, forcing them to guard the wall as well.
It seemed those royals understood that the Military Police, who had never dealt with giants, could not fight them. But the Survey Corps was different. They ventured out year-round, and battling giants was routine for them.
Because of this, after Rose Wall was breached, the main defensive force became the contractors. Only a very few Survey Corps members arrived, and only three new recruits from the Training Corps were sent to District Three.
The reality was that District Three had no one else to send. Aside from the Survey Corps soldiers who dared to face giants head-on, among the over two thousand Military Police members, not a single one was willing to supervise those "prisoners" in battle.
If all Survey Corps personnel were sent to the war zone, the Military Police would lose face. In the end, Eren and the other two happened to pass by and witness this scene. Seeing the cowardly Military Police members, Eren grew furious and took on the task himself.
The Training Corps belonged to neither the Survey Corps nor the Military Police, so sending the three of them was the best choice. At most, after the battle, they would be forcibly conscripted into the Military Police.
The sun gradually rose, and a ray of light appeared on the horizon, signaling the start of a new wave of giant attacks.
Su Xiao had woken up very early. In this environment, he only slept lightly.
Beside him, En Tu had also awakened.
"Are you going to do it? That's the child of the world. If you accidentally kill him, the consequences will be severe."
"You don't need to worry about that. You just need to keep Mikasa and Armin asleep. No problem?"
"No problem. I can stabilize their emotions and block their perception."
After a few whispered words between Su Xiao and En Tu, the two slowly approached Eren and the others.
At this moment, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were sleeping soundly, leaning back-to-back in a circle. The low-alcohol fruit wine they had drunk the night before had taken effect.
The alcohol content in the fruit wine was actually negligible, but the trace amounts of caffeine it contained caused severe hangovers.
Alcohol makes people drunk because it penetrates human cells more effectively, squeezing out some of the water inside the cells, creating the sensation of drunkenness.
That's why people feel thirsty after drinking.
Caffeine exacerbates this effect. So some fruit wines, despite having very low alcohol content, can still cause deep intoxication. For example, a certain fruit wine known as "Date Rape Wine" contains caffeine.
Eren and the others were in this state now—dizzy, drowsy, and weak.
"Calm."
A wave of light appeared in En Tu's palm, gradually spreading over Eren and the others.
"You can proceed. As long as you don't attack Mikasa and Armin, they won't wake up."
Maintaining this skill was somewhat taxing for En Tu. This perception-blocking skill was a must-have for every healer, used for escaping.
Su Xiao approached Eren and the others, gently pinching Mikasa's fair cheek. After a few seconds, Mikasa only frowned but did not wake.
Satisfied, Su Xiao grabbed Eren by the neck with one hand, pulled him up, and pressed him to the ground beside him.
The suffocating pain made Eren struggle, his eyes wide open. But Su Xiao's other hand had already covered Eren's eyes.
Eren grabbed Su Xiao's arm with both hands, his feet stomping the ground in an attempt to push his upper body up. Seeing this, Su Xiao pressed his knee down on Eren's lower abdomen.
Crack, crack, crack.
His hand tightened, and faint sounds of bone fractures came. En Tu watched from the side, his brow twitching.
"Hey, hey, don't kill him."
"It's fine. I know my limits."
Thirty seconds later, Eren's tongue was sticking out. Normally, someone being choked by the throat could still make sounds, but Su Xiao was squeezing too tightly. Even the bones in Eren's spine had sustained minor damage.
After Eren completely lost consciousness, Su Xiao lifted Eren's body with one hand and walked toward the outside of the wall.
En Tu watched Su Xiao's retreating figure and shook his head with a sigh. Other contractors preferred protagonists they could communicate or negotiate with, but in this guy's hands, they were in for a world of trouble.
Outside the wall, Su Xiao found a giant about four meters tall. As the sky grew brighter, the giant's vitality had somewhat recovered. When it saw Su Xiao, its massive mouth opened wide.
Su Xiao rushed forward in a few steps, threw the unconscious Eren into the giant's mouth, and kicked the giant's lower jaw, forcing its mouth shut.
Pfft.
One of Eren's legs was bitten off. The giant swallowed Eren whole with a gulp.
A flash of blade light. Su Xiao, wielding Dragon-Slaying Flash, chopped the giant into a limbless stump. He quickly took out iron chains and bound the giant tightly.
En Tu also ran out from inside the wall.
"The protagonist isn't dead, is he?"
"No. Quickly move it away and hide it. Preferably close to District Three."
En Tu nodded, struggling to lift the giant and carry it into the city. Su Xiao had chosen a four-meter-class giant specifically to make it easier for En Tu to transport. He had even reduced the giant's weight.
After En Tu's figure disappeared, Su Xiao nodded. The two had signed a contract, so he wasn't afraid En Tu would kill Eren—unless he wanted to die alongside him.
Su Xiao picked up the severed leg from the ground, found another giant, chopped it half to death, then dragged its body to the hole and waited silently.
Less than an hour later, the giant's vitality had almost fully recovered. With his perception fully extended, Su Xiao heard the voices of contractors in the distance. Some were returning.
Su Xiao hurled the giant in his hands with all his strength toward where Mikasa and Armin were, simultaneously throwing the severed leg. By then, the perception-blocking skill on Mikasa and Armin had been lifted.
Boom.
A loud crash woke Mikasa and Armin. They immediately tried to stand, but a heavy, dizzy feeling hit them.
"Eren, Armin, are you okay?"
"I'm... I'm fine."
"..."
"Eren?"
Mikasa scanned her surroundings. Aside from the giant slowly getting up and Armin, she didn't see Eren. Suddenly, a severed leg caught her eye. It looked familiar.
Mikasa's pupils rapidly contracted. Her mouth opened slightly.
"E...ren?"
That leg was Eren's. Mikasa recognized it.
Not far away, Su Xiao had "blood" at the corner of his mouth, his gaze fixed on the direction En Tu had left. Now, he just had to wait.
As for Mikasa and Armin's suspicions, he didn't care too much. As long as there was no evidence that he had "killed" Eren, it was fine. Killing a Training Corps member would mean a wanted warrant.
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