He felt his body getting hot, and the fatigue from running just now instantly dissipated. Ronan's eyes lit up:
"No pain, no gain, every drop of sweat will be rewarded..."
Reciting these words of chicken soup silently, he suddenly realized:
"Although the opening method is a bit messed up, at least it's still useful, and that's enough." Ronan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Boom~ Boom~ Boom~"
Accompanied by a series of deep bell sounds, the tightly closed city gate slowly rose.
Eren beside him suddenly shouted, "Brother Ronan, look! The Survey Corps is back!"
Looking at Eren, who was excitedly staring at the world outside the city gate with eyes full of desire, Ronan whispered, thinking back to the future plot:
"Eren, do you want to see the outside world?"
Without hesitation, Eren nodded, "Brother Ronan, I want to join the Survey Corps someday!"
Looking at Eren's serious face, Ronan rubbed his hair and teased, "A nine-year-old kid wants to join the Survey Corps? The minimum age for the training corps is thirteen."
"Damn it, don't look down on me! I'm not qualified now, but when I turn thirteen, I will definitely join the Survey Corps!" Eren said loudly.
The people around them cast strange glances — some reluctant, some disdainful, some disgusted, and some indifferent...
Ignoring all this, Ronan looked at Eren seriously and said, "Come on, I believe you can do it!"
"Brother Ronan, you..." Eren was very excited.
At this moment, the originally quiet crowd suddenly became agitated. A team of cavalrymen passed through the city gate and entered the city.
The Survey Corps is back!
There are four major corps under the royal government: the Training Corps responsible for training new recruits and supplying talents to the other three corps; the Military Police Corps with the power to live in the interior; the Garrison Corps responsible for strengthening the city walls and defending each city district; and the Survey Corps, mainly responsible for patrolling outside the wall and hunting Titans.
Among the four major corps, the Survey Corps has the fewest people — only about a thousand in total.
But there is no doubt that the Survey Corps, which often walks out beyond the city walls and confronts Titans head-on, is the most powerful corps among them.
However, walking beyond the city walls means high risks, and those risks are deadly.
Therefore, the mortality rate of the Survey Corps is the highest among the four corps.
At this moment, watching the Survey Corps members slowly pass by, the smell of blood reaching his nose made Ronan swallow hard. Eren beside him looked indifferent but with excitement and admiration shining in his eyes.
"It's so nice to be innocent..." Ronan shook his head slightly.
Suddenly, he felt someone touch his hair, and a slightly hoarse voice came to his ears at the right time:
"Ronan, you're here again."
He raised his head and saw a tired-looking old man with gentle eyes. Ronan, who had related memories, quickly reacted:
"Uncle Keith..."
"Big... Uncle... Do I look that old?" Keith touched his short hair, looking a little embarrassed.
The two Survey Corps members following behind him were laughing.
As the current leader of the Survey Corps, Keith was always serious, and it was rare to see him embarrassed like this. It opened their eyes and made them feel something new, even easing the sadness in their hearts over the deaths of their teammates.
Hearing this, Ronan took a deep breath and said firmly, "Uncle Keith, I am thirteen now. I will apply to join the Training Corps next year. After graduating, I want to join the Survey Corps!"
"You..."
Looking at Ronan's determined eyes, Keith was silent for a moment, his expression complicated. Finally, everything turned into a sigh:
"You have your father's eyes... But you can't just join the Survey Corps because you want to. We only need the elite." After ruffling Ronan's hair again, Keith nodded and turned back to the team.
After watching his back disappear from sight, Ronan withdrew his gaze and felt cold sweat on his back. He felt a little regretful and timid... But soon, all of that turned into determination.
It is impossible for him to stay inside the city walls for the rest of his life. Even if he did without ambition, it would be hard to survive the chaos ahead.
To survive, all Ronan can do is become stronger, strive for a higher status, gain greater power, or even sit in the highest position. Only then can he fully control his own destiny.
Of course, all of this requires him to grow strong enough and build a wide network of contacts and influence.
Joining the Training Corps and then the Survey Corps is undoubtedly the best path for advancement right now.
High risk means high reward.
Moreover, the training in the Training Corps is very important to him. With his understanding of his golden finger, as long as he works hard and trains diligently, the rewards will definitely be extraordinary.
If he can become, or even surpass, the humanoid monster like Levi, Titans will no longer be a concern. He can also gain enough power and influence within the royal government to better live in this world... to survive!