Chapter 41: A Lamb Walking into the Lion's Den
After Ymir was captured, she admitted in front of the expectant eyes of her many followers that she was indeed Ymir, hoping to save those believers through this act.
However, the Marleyan government didn't care about them at all. Without even going through a court trial, they directly injected Ymir and those followers with Titan serum, transforming them into mindless Titans.
This was the punishment for Eldians after committing crimes. Being turned into a mindless Titan was a fate worse than death. Although they retained self-awareness, they couldn't control the Titan's body, wandering about like lingering ghosts.
The Marley Empire didn't waste the mindless Titans transformed from Eldians. They were uniformly transported to the island surrounded by walls.
This was precisely why there were endless Titans outside the walls.
After becoming a Titan, Ymir wandered for a full sixty years. By a twist of fate, she devoured one of Reiner and the others' companions, obtained the "Jaw Titan's power," and regained her human form. At that time, Ymir still had the body of a teenager.
After regaining her human form, Ymir decided to live for herself and do what she wanted.
But because there were too many mindless Titans outside the walls, and Ymir couldn't cross the ocean, she could only sneak into the world inside the walls and survive by stealing. This continued until Ymir met a woman who changed her life. Although Ymir was also a woman, she fell in love with that woman.
...
Returning from his memories, Su Xiao looked at Ymir.
He now understood her background and could roughly guess her intentions.
"Here to defect?"
"Of course, of course."
Ymir had a cheerful personality. Although she was somewhat sharp-tongued, she was kind-hearted. However, under the cover of her sarcasm, she often gave people the impression of being difficult to get along with.
Moreover, Ymir had issues with her sexual orientation, so she generally didn't have a good attitude toward men.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Violent coughing sounds came as Ymir had already helped up the woman she had previously spat out.
From Su Xiao's angle, he could only see that the woman had blonde hair and a petite figure.
"Historia, wake up."
Ymir's voice was anxious.
"Cough, cough~."
Historia coughed dryly a few times, then woke up and looked around in confusion.
"Ymir? How did I get here?"
Ymir had taken advantage of the chaos earlier to transform into the Jaw Titan, immediately swallowed Historia into her mouth, and jumped down from the city wall.
Although Historia's public identity was only a member of the Training Corps, she had another identity.
She was the child born from a relationship between a member of the royal family inside the walls and a servant. Being born out of wedlock caused her to be ostracized by the royal family.
However, Historia was a direct descendant of the royal bloodline, qualified to become the king inside the walls—the king who rules everything.
Don't think that just anyone could become the king inside the walls. Without royal blood, one couldn't fully unleash the power of the Founding Titan.
"Historia?"
Annie stepped forward to carefully examine Historia, whose face was covered in Titan saliva.
"Today must be our lucky day. Not only did we catch Eren, but Historia has also delivered herself to us."
Bertholdt's face was full of joy. Their mission was complete, and now they just needed to return to the Marley Empire.
"Ymir, what exactly is going on?"
Historia, the sweet and naive girl, was very confused. She had been swallowed for no reason, and now she was here.
Ymir put her arm around Historia's shoulders and began to explain the current situation to her in a low voice.
Ymir was originally from the Marley Empire, and now that she knew the identities of Reiner and the other two, she had already guessed the general situation.
"Do you understand now, Historia? There's no hope in the world inside the walls. Now that these four spies are preparing to return to Marley, it means their goal has been achieved. The world inside the walls is no longer safe. If you want to continue living, you can only defect to the Marley Empire."
Historia stood frozen on the spot, unable to accept the current situation for a moment.
"This... then what should I do? What about my companions inside the walls?"
Historia's face was full of hesitation.
Historia was a very conflicted girl. She always lived for others, or rather, she had no goal in life at all. Her unfortunate childhood experiences made her hope to be useful to others, even if it meant dying.
"Are you done?"
Su Xiao looked coldly at Ymir. This gaze made Ymir's heart tighten.
"What do you mean?"
"An inexplicable defection."
Su Xiao directly raised his blade and charged forward. Ymir was greatly alarmed.
"Reiner, join forces to subdue her!"
Su Xiao shouted loudly. Annie and Bertholdt were stunned, but the Armored Titan Reiner directly rushed forward.
"I have no hostile intentions."
Su Xiao completely ignored Ymir's explanation and slashed at her chest.
Puchi.
Blood splattered everywhere. A very deep wound was cut across Ymir's chest, and the beating of her heart could faintly be seen.
"You bastard!"
Boom!
A golden lightning bolt struck down. Su Xiao raised his left hand, wrapped in a black metal guard, to block in front of him, temporarily forcing back the attack.
Although Ymir had forced Su Xiao back, the Armored Titan charged forward.
The Armored Titan raised its arms high and hammered both fists heavily onto the newly formed Jaw Titan.
Bang!
Large pieces of bone and muscle flew everywhere.
The impact stopped. Su Xiao took a few steps forward, held his blade with both hands, and slashed at the Jaw Titan's calf.
...
Five minutes later, Ymir, whose arms had been severed, lay on the ground gasping heavily. Steam rose from the wounds on her severed arms. The massive consumption of physical strength prevented Ymir from repairing her arms, let alone transforming into a Titan again.
Su Xiao picked up Ymir from the ground and threw her high into the air. The Armored Titan's mouth opened wide, and with a crunch, it bit down on Ymir's body.
Ymir let out a scream.
The Armored Titan Reiner wasn't trying to kill Ymir. This was to worsen her injuries, making it impossible for her to transform into a Titan for a short time.
Su Xiao didn't accept Ymir's "defection" for good reason. In the original story, Ymir's allegiance was wavering—sometimes helping Reiner and the others, and at other times defecting to help the Survey Corps.
For such an unstable factor, Su Xiao didn't give her a chance to switch sides. He directly crippled her and took her away.
"Now, it's your turn."
Su Xiao held his blade with one hand and slowly approached Historia.
"Wait, I... um..."
Historia, the sweet and naive girl, had a mental freeze. The situation in front of her was too complicated, and her not-so-bright brain simply couldn't process it.
A massive figure blocked Su Xiao's path. It was the Armored Titan Reiner.
"Reiner, it seems this woman has a special meaning to you."
Su Xiao pondered for a moment. He couldn't fall out with Reiner and the others just yet.
Pfft.
Reiner emerged from the nape of the Armored Titan's neck, still wrapped in some muscle tissue.
"Just tie her up. Don't hurt her, please, Bai Ye."
Su Xiao sheathed the Dragon-Slaying Flash, rushed a few steps to Historia, and this time Reiner didn't stop him.
Historia had received training from the Training Corps and had some ability to resist, but against Su Xiao, she was knocked down as soon as she assumed a combat stance.
"Mm... mm... mm..."
Bound like a dumpling with rope and gagged with a white cloth, Historia struggled, tears glistening in her eyes.
This sweet and naive girl was carried by Annie, and the group jumped onto Reiner's shoulder to continue their journey.
Ymir and Historia were completely unexpected bonuses. Ymir had been a bit too clever, thinking that her identity as a fellow Marleyan would make Reiner and the others accept her.
The journey continued. When the Armored Titan Reiner got tired from running, they switched to Annie transforming into the Female Titan.
Along the way, they didn't stop at all. For the Survey Corps to try and catch up was nothing short of a pipe dream.