Setting aside the still-unconscious Eren, the three of them stood on the same branch, locked in a tense confrontation.
Lock looked at Bertholdt, his tone icy. "Bertholdt, do you realize what the situation is now?"
"The game of playing house is over. You've been acting for so long; if you're not tired of it, I certainly am."
"When you first had her approach me, did you never consider this day would come?"
Bertholdt gripped the blade in his hand tightly, trembling slightly.
Reiner glanced toward the depths of the forest before speaking. "Lock, what do you mean by that?"
Lock knew they were stalling for Ymir, but he didn't care. He continued, "What's the matter, Reiner? Wasn't it your idea to have Annie seduce me to extract information about the King?"
Ignoring their unsightly expressions, he looked puzzled. "I'm actually curious—how did you realize I was playing you?"
"Even Annie herself didn't notice."
After a moment of silence, Bertholdt whispered, "It was just a guess at the time. Besides, Annie never managed to get any useful intel from you..."
"Hahaha..." Lock's laughter cut Bertholdt off. With an expression that said he could no longer keep a straight face, he said, "Bertholdt, you're really good at convincing yourself."
Lock raised his dual blades; he could already hear Ymir rushing toward them.
"Alright, Bertholdt. Hand over Eren."
"If Mikasa were standing here, she wouldn't be speaking to you so politely."
He turned sideways and began to close in on Bertholdt.
"Lock! There is no future within the Walls!" Reiner suddenly roared.
Lock stopped in his tracks.
"You can't even imagine the power of our Hometown. No matter how strong you are alone, it's useless!"
Reiner knew that if they didn't transform into Titans, he and Bertholdt couldn't possibly stop Lock. He had to stall for time.
"The King within the Walls stripped all of you of your memories long ago. You're all being kept in the dark by him."
"Work with us, Lock!"
Lock chuckled softly. "Alright, Reiner, you can stop with the nonsense. Ymir is already here."
"Reiner!" Bertholdt shouted again.
Reiner's spirits lifted as he spotted Ymir's figure rapidly approaching.
He shot Bertholdt a look, and Bertholdt immediately understood, using his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to hide behind a tree trunk.
At the same time, Reiner lunged at Lock, slicing his palm open with a dagger.
A flash of light instantly enveloped Reiner's body, threatening to swallow the nearby Lock!
Lock instantly leapt off the branch, curling his body into a ball. The shockwave of the explosion blew him flying back.
Boom! Lock tumbled across the distant ground like a smoking baseball.
Ymir leapt over Lock's head, failing to get a clear look at the face of the person beneath her.
Lock stood up and looked at his tattered cloak, feeling somewhat annoyed.
Lock's split-second reaction had avoided most of the damage. Shortly after landing, the injuries caused by the heat and impact had already completely healed.
He looked up. The Survey Corps Soldiers had followed Ymir to this location, but they could only watch helplessly as those traitors took Eren and Historia away.
At that moment, Hannes and his subordinates arrived with everyone's horses.
Hannes shouted at the group of dazed young people, "Don't stop! Get on your horses and keep chasing!"
Lock followed the others, mounting his horse and charging out of the Forest of Giant Trees, hot on the heels of Reiner and the others.
Jean, watching the back of the Armored Titan, shouted, "He's not fast while carrying Ymir. We can catch up!"
In the ranks, Lock noticed Mikasa beside him staring at him with a dark expression.
He asked, puzzled, "What is it, Mikasa? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Mikasa's voice carried a hidden rage. "Once on the wall, and now again. You let them get away again!"
Before Lock could explain, Armin couldn't help but interject, "Mikasa! How can you blame Lock? He was quite decisive back then. Who could have known they wouldn't die even from that!"
"It's just that our intelligence on the Power of the Titans is still too limited!"
Mikasa's anger wasn't so easily appeased. She added, "Then what about just now? Why didn't you fire a signal flare when you found them?"
Armin couldn't cover for Lock on this one. He could only give Lock a helpless look.
Lock looked at Mikasa and said seriously, "I didn't find them much earlier than you did. The situation was urgent, and I did take it upon myself to try to ambush the two of them, but unfortunately, I failed."
"I'm lucky I wasn't blown to bits on the spot by Reiner."
Mikasa looked at Lock's tattered cloak and stopped pressing him, but her expression remained grim. "I'm coming this time, and I won't show them any mercy."
"If Ymir gets in the way, I won't spare her either!"
Lock knew Mikasa was emotional right now, so he didn't argue with her...
As the distance closed, Lock could even see Eren's face as he was carried on Bertholdt's back.
The Soldiers in the lead had already begun trying to sink their grappling hooks into the gaps of the Armored Titan's armor.
However, the Soldiers' blades still couldn't damage the Armored Titan, not to mention Ymir, hanging on the Armored Titan's back, was obstructing the Soldiers' approach.
After another Soldier's hook was torn away by Ymir, Mikasa seized the opportunity and slashed Ymir's left eye with her blade.
She then quickly pivoted in mid-air, heading straight for Bertholdt, who was standing on Reiner's shoulder!
Bertholdt was clearly more terrified of Mikasa than Lock. He immediately screamed, "Reiner, protect me!"
The Armored Titan raised its hand, cupping Bertholdt into the hollow of its collarbone, blocking Mikasa's blade just in time.
Bertholdt locked eyes with Mikasa through the gaps in the Armored Titan's fingers. He broke into a cold sweat, terrified by the cold, blatant killing intent in her eyes.
Ymir's hand reached for Mikasa, but Mikasa used her gas thrusters to leap and dodge. Looking at the Titan Ymir that she had transformed into, a flash of resolve crossed her eyes.
"It seems I must take out Ymir first!"
She drew her dual blades in mid-air, her grappling hooks piercing a spot beyond Ymir's reach. She closed the distance like lightning, intent on hacking Ymir to pieces.
"Wait, Mikasa!"
"Wait!"
Lock's and Historia's voices rang out simultaneously.
Historia stood atop Ymir's head, while Lock appeared beside Ymir.
Mikasa sheathed her blades and landed on the back of Reiner's head.
Historia said to Mikasa, "Ymir is being threatened by Reiner and the others. She has no choice, Mikasa!"
Lock, seeing Mikasa's "friendly" gaze, clicked his tongue and said, "Leave this to me. You go ahead and find Bertholdt."
"Don't worry, Ymir won't stop you."
Mikasa glanced at Lock and returned to the front without a word.
"Alright, the troublesome one is gone." Lock turned and looked up at Ymir. "It's time we had a talk, Ymir."
---
A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San