As a gentle breeze brushed against his face, Lock revealed a nostalgic smile.
That great battle hadn't reached its conclusion because Shadis interrupted it; both Lock and Mikasa were punished with a 20-kilometer run, but such a penalty meant nothing to either of them.
In that brief clash, Lock had gained a preliminary understanding of the power of an awakened Ackerman.
Their reactions, speed, strength, and combat intelligence were far beyond those of ordinary people several times over. A fifteen-year-old girl was already that terrifying; one could only imagine how strong Levi and Kenny were.
The saying that Levi alone was equivalent to an entire elite squad was actually a conservative estimate.
Lock even suspected that Levi could solo the entire Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Squad by himself.
Of course, Lock, who now possessed the Power of the Titans, could also achieve that.
He gave a confident smile and pulled back his thoughts.
Lock frowned and looked ahead; in that moment just now, he seemed to have heard some strange noises.
It sounded very much like the footsteps of a Titan.
It's been this long; are there still Titans wandering inside the walls?
Trost is not far from here; what is the Garrison Regiment doing?
"Hyah!"
Feeling somewhat anxious, Lock urged his horse to accelerate... "Captain, that Titan is completely ignoring us!"
Hearing the report from her subordinate, Rico frowned and said in a low voice, "Is it another Abnormal Titan?"
The Garrison Regiment's mission had shifted from blocking Titans yesterday to the current operation of exterminating the remaining Titans.
However, Rico, who hadn't slept all night, felt the doubts in her heart growing deeper.
The number of Titans was too small, which was quite illogical. Was it because the breach was too far from here?
What was even stranger was that these Titans were all of the type that could move at night, and the proportion of Abnormal Titans was startlingly high.
The Soldiers patrolling the walls hadn't returned yet, and the issue of the Titans would be handled by the arriving Survey Corps; she still had to complete her own mission first.
She gave a stern command: "Abandon the plan to lure it into cannon range. Engage directly using Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. We must stop this 15-meter class Titan here."
"...Yes!"
Rico looked at the cold sweat on her subordinate's face, feeling somewhat helpless in her heart.
Most of the former elites of the Trost District Garrison Regiment had died in that reclamation battle.
Especially the tragedy during the final sealing of the gate; Rico still felt a lingering fear whenever she thought about it now.
All those with the same seniority as her were dead, and Weilman was dead too; she had been promoted to Captain because of this.
A Captain is not a Squad Leader; she could no longer personally take the field at will. She had to let these inexperienced subordinates face it alone.
Even if there were sacrifices, this was a necessary path for their growth.
At that moment, the Adjutant beside her suddenly said, "Captain, someone is coming from the west. Just one person, looks like someone from the Military Police Corps."
"Military Police Corps? Haven't they already arrived in Trost from the Royal Capital?"
Rico took the binoculars from her subordinate and raised them to her eyes.
Indeed, to the west, a person wearing a Military Police Corps uniform was approaching on horseback. When Rico saw the person's face clearly, her expression froze.
Noticing something was wrong with his superior, the Adjutant asked, "Captain, what's wrong?"
Rico lowered the binoculars and said expressionlessly, "It's someone from the Central First Military Police Regiment. Ignore him."
The Adjutant said in surprise, "Central First Military Police Regiment? Why would they appear here?"
Rico did not reply; she recalled the scene when she first met Lock.
After that young man killed Commander Weilman, his hands were stained with blood, yet his face was calm.
When she pressed his head to the ground, and Ian tied him up witha rope, she asked this recruit a question: "Why did you do this?"
Lock, who was kneeling on the ground and allowing the two to handle him, suddenly laughed: "No reason why, I just wanted to give him a beating."
Rico only felt that this Recruit was quite terrifying, and the impact of what he did was significant; he had to be made an example of as soon as possible.
But the subsequent development of events exceeded everyone's expectations.
The deceased commander was stripped of his military status and became a coward, while the murderer transformed and became the hero who saved Trost.
Having experienced all this personally, Rico only felt that this world was full of absurdity.
If he is a hero, then what about my companions who died for victory?
Who will remember them?
Rico gripped the reins in her hand tightly, her fingertips turning white...
Behind the Titan that was walking briskly in a strange posture, Rico's combat squad had already assembled.
They were preparing to launch a surprise attack from behind the Titan, only to discover in horror that this Abnormal Titan, which had been ignoring them, suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked down at them.
The Squad Leader, who was exceptionally knowledgeable about Titans, immediately realized his mistake: "Oh no, there are too many people gathered around it!"
"Disperse! Disperse quickly!"
The Titan leaned down and grabbed a Soldier who was trying to rein in his horse to turn around.
Looking at the giant maw getting closer and closer, the Soldier screamed in despair: "Ah, save me, Squad Leader!"
"Hank!"
At that moment, a grappling wire streaked over the heads of the terrified crowd and struck the Titan's wrist. Lock flew toward the Titan's arm with his blades in hand, twisted his waist and back, and the spinning blades instantly severed four of the Titan's fingers.
The captured Soldier fell from the air and was caught by the companions below.
The Titan howled and reached for Lock in mid-air with its other hand. Lock's grapple hooked into the Titan's left waist, and with the thrusters behind his waist outputting full power, he drew a diagonal downward semi-circle counter-clockwise in the air.
Not only did he instantly dodge the Titan's swinging arm, but he also accurately grazed the ground and circled behind the Titan.
Another grappling wire was ejected from his waist, catching the nape of the Titan's neck. Lock quickly pulled himself in and sliced off the meat from the Titan's nape.
"Boom!"
The Titan collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust. Lock landed on bended knees with a relaxed expression.
He checked his blades, found that the damage wasn't obvious, and sheathed them back at his waist.
Confirming that the Titan was dead, the Garrison Soldiers dismounted one after another and came before Lock.
The Squad Leader asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Lock waved his hand, indicating he was fine.
After the Squad Leader thanked him sincerely, he said with a bitter smile, "I've made a fool of myself in front of you; so many of us couldn't take it down for so long."
Lock comforted him, "Don't say that. Without you guys attracting its attention, I wouldn't have been able to deal with this fellow either."
He called back his horse and said to the crowd, "Sorry, I still have to rush to the Trost District as soon as possible to report the news."
The Squad Leader immediately said, "Trost is still some distance from here, and your horse looks exhausted from running. Let us give you a replacement horse."
Before Lock could refuse, the Squad Leader turned back and said to the fellow Lock had saved, "Hank, give him your horse."
"Oh, okay." Hank agreed immediately.
Hank was about to lead the horse over when a voice came from the distance.
"Wait a moment!"
Rico and her Adjutant arrived before the crowd on horseback.
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
...
Rico said sternly, "Have you all forgotten the regulations of The Corps? Who allowed you to trade horses privately?"
The Squad Leader was quite puzzled upon hearing this and said, "Captain, this Military Police Soldier's horse is exhausted, and our mission is already complete..."
Rico said angrily, "Who told you our mission is complete? What if there are still lurking Titans nearby?"
"Are you responsible, or am I?!"
The Squad Leader only felt that the Captain had suddenly become like a different person, but at this time, he could only bow his head and admit his mistake.
Rico rode her horse up to Lock and looked down at him from above: "Recruit, you can leave now."
Lock smiled slightly and said, "Captain, can I ask why?"
Rico replied calmly, "No reason why, I just don't want to help you."