Although he had long been mentally prepared, Lillian still hadn't expected the military's response to be this fast.
He had known from the start that once he did this, there would be no peaceful resolution. Still, he thought he would at least have two or three days of breathing room. But judging by the situation now, certain people had reacted astonishingly quickly—so quickly that it almost felt as if they had already prepared a plan specifically targeting him.
"What a headache…"
He looked up at the soldiers stationed atop the wall. These garrison troops had clearly turned hostile. Not long ago, they had been all smiles and deference whenever they saw him. Now, they were aiming their gun barrels straight at him.
"Such a nice gate… it's a shame to damage it."
After a moment's thought, Lillian turned and walked a few steps away, then suddenly turned back and assumed a runner's starting stance.
The soldiers on the wall froze in confusion.
"H–Hey… what's he planning to do?"
Boom—!
In the next instant, Lillian vanished from where he stood. Like a raging gust of wind, he slammed straight into the wall's support pillar. Then he leapt again, rapidly climbing upward! Each time his body surged higher, shattered stone and dust rained down, catching the moonlight and gleaming silver, creating an almost dreamlike sight.
"W–What the—?!"
"D–Don't let him get up here!!"
"Fire!!"
Many of the soldiers simply couldn't process what they were seeing. A few braver ones instinctively pulled the trigger, thinking that if they could injure, capture, or even kill Lillian, they would instantly rise through the ranks.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted chaotically. They only had time for a single volley—because by the time they could fire again, Lillian was already standing right in front of them, smiling pleasantly.
"Having fun?"
"…"
Lillian grabbed the arm of the garrison soldier who had ordered the shooting and, with a sudden burst of strength, flung him straight off the wall!
"Never tried it before, have you?!"
"AAAAAAAH—!"
A scream lingered in the air before ending with a dull, heavy thud.
Thump!
"W–Waaah…"
Several cowardly soldiers didn't even dare to look down. Their legs gave out, rifles slipping from their hands as they collapsed to their knees.
"Please! Please don't kill us!"
"I'm sorry! We were forced to do it!"
"Spare us!"
"…"
Seeing how pathetic they looked, Lillian had no intention of throwing everyone off the wall. He wasn't that far gone.
"Enough noise. Tell me—how many people have entered the city?"
"F–Four hundred… maybe more. The one leading them is Southern Commander Pixis… and we heard the Interior Military Police also entered through the inner gate on the other side…"
"Pixis and Nile, huh. Looks like those two are finally wearing the same pair of pants."
Lillian knew Pixis had never liked him, but he hadn't expected Nile to get involved too. If Nile had listened to Erwin, he shouldn't have acted rashly. Had Pixis talked him into it? Or had the Scout Regiment also sent people?
Whatever.
Lillian thought this might actually be an opportunity.
Originally, his plan had been simple: stay within the Walls, slowly build up his own power, infiltrate every sector step by step, avoid radical actions, and take the path of peaceful evolution. Once the foundations were stable, then he would consider major reforms—education, political systems, and the like.
But now, that path was no longer possible. Once he left, everything he had built would be extremely easy to dismantle.
Without him, what could Annie, Ymir, and Marlo really do? To be honest, all three of their Titan forms had serious weaknesses. In a one-on-one fight, Levi alone could kill all three of them in succession.
That wasn't an exaggeration. In the original timeline, Levi was so fast that Annie couldn't even react—she could only defend passively. As for someone like Marlo, who lacked proficiency, or Ymir, who was agile but lacked destructive power, they were even less of a match for the Scout Regiment.
And then there was Kenny. Right now, he followed Lillian completely—but if Lillian disappeared, Kenny might defect immediately. Not to mention the merchant guilds, allies, and other forces…
In other words, the moment Lillian left, everyone he wanted to protect inside the Walls would be placed in grave danger.
So before leaving, he needed to make a huge statement.
Lillian lifted his head and stared at the moon hanging in the sky. A statement that would make others fear him—fear him so deeply that even if he never showed his face again, they wouldn't dare touch his subordinates or friends.
"All right. Get up, all of you."
Having made up his mind, Lillian spoke to the dozen or so soldiers kneeling before him.
"Come with me."
---
"Surrender."
On two main streets, four to five hundred soldiers stood on each side, dark gun barrels aimed at defensive barricades made of sandbags.
Military Police Commander Nile shouted loudly, "If you surrender now, your crimes won't be counted! But if you continue to resist, it will be a serious offense!"
"We haven't committed any crime to begin with!"
Marlo shouted back from behind the sandbags.
"If you dare to attack, we will fight back!"
"…"
Nile clenched his teeth and turned to Pixis beside him.
"Commander, these people seem extremely loyal to Lillian. They're not listening to us at all."
"Mm… Attention!!"
Pixis suddenly roared, startling Nile badly.
"You really are innocent! The one who is guilty is your deputy commander, Lillian! He secretly arrested high-ranking military officials without any legal authorization whatsoever! There is no need for you to bear responsibility for his crimes! On the contrary, your resistance will only bring him even greater trouble!"
"Th–This…"
The moment those words were spoken, hesitation spread among the crowd. They still didn't fully understand the situation, but one thing was certain—they didn't want to cause trouble for Lillian. For a moment, their resolve wavered.
However, Marlo stood firm. In his view, surrendering would only create more trouble for Lillian. He raised his arm and shouted loudly:
"Everyone, don't be fooled by the enemy's sweet talk! We absolutely cannot surrender!"
That little bastard…
Pixis's expression darkened. As the southern commander, his authority carried great weight in the southern cities—but Stohess District belonged to the eastern region. He had rarely shown his face here, so people naturally didn't give him much respect. His authority simply didn't work in this place.
"Commander, there's no point in talking to them anymore," Pixis's personal guard advised. "For people this stubborn, words are useless no matter how much we say."
"Mm…"
Behind the sandbags, Historia was tightly gripping Ymir's arm. She whispered nervously:
"If it really turns into a fight later, don't run around. Just stay crouched behind the sandbags, okay?"
"Ymir…"
Historia looked at her in confusion. "Do humans really have to kill each other?"
"Heh."
Ymir ruffled her beautiful blonde hair. "That's human nature. Whether inside the Walls or out in the world, as long as humans exist, killing each other will never stop… Right, Annie?"
Ymir turned to look at Annie behind the neighboring sandbags. Annie was slowly rubbing the iron hook ring on her index finger. Hearing this, she remained silent and gave a slight nod.
"..."
Historia looked at Ymir with sadness.
"Lillian should be back soon, right?"
"Probably. That guy's pretty reliable."
Ymir curled her lips and glanced around. "Of course, it's also possible he's already here, sneaking around somewhere like a thief, secretly listening to both sides. Then he'll show up at the critical moment and act like some big hero."
"Ymir, how can you say that…"
"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what happened back in the Forest of Giant Trees… Never mind, now's not the time."
She peeked through a gap between the sandbags and saw the soldiers on both sides of the street slowly advancing, rifles raised, their steps cautious but steady.
Marlo saw it too. The enemy soldiers outnumbered them several times over. If they fought head-on—No.
They had to fight head-on.
He thought: if he backed down now, how would he ever face Lillian again? How could he live up to the power Lillian had entrusted to him?
"I'm warning you! If you come any closer, we'll open fire!"
The soldiers halted. Nile and Pixis exchanged glances.
Advance.
They didn't have the courage to shoot first.
At that moment, on a rooftop not far away, Levi's elite squad and the members of the 104th Training Corps were all tense.
"Captain Levi! Are we really just going to watch them fight?!"
Eren shouted anxiously. "Why?! We should stop this!"
"Stand by, Eren."
Levi glanced at him coldly. "If no Titans appear, none of you are to act."
"Why?!"
"Eren."
Armin pulled him back and whispered, "I think… Commander Erwin doesn't want the Scout Regiment to get involved."
"..."
Listening to the steadily approaching footsteps, Marlo knew his warning had accomplished nothing. He took several deep breaths and tightened his grip on his rifle.
Inhale—exhale. Inhale—exhale. Inhale—exhale.
He silently counted down three, two, one. His eyes sharpened. He thrust the barrel of his gun out from between the sandbags and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!