"What!? Historia and the others were kidnapped? Even Commander-in-Chief Zackly was taken?" Nile stared at the battered Military Police in front of him, his face full of shock.
With bruises on his face and his right hand completely wrapped in bandages, Marlo lowered his head.
"Yes. The invaders were very strong. There were five of them in total, wearing unknown masks, and their combat ability was terrifying. Their equipment was also very strange, similar to the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment previously used by the Central Military Police, but different. All the manor guard Military Police, including Commander-in-Chief Zackly's personal guard unit, were knocked down."
Marlo felt deeply ashamed. More than a dozen Military Police who usually prided themselves on being elites had been completely defeated by just five people. It was an outright humiliation.
Bang! Nile slammed his fist hard onto the table and immediately gave orders.
"Dispatch the Military Police. Notify all corps at once. All cities are to be placed under martial law. Mobilize soldiers and conduct a full search! Also, inform the commanders and regimental leaders to convene an emergency meeting!"
...
Yago gradually came back to his senses from the chaos. When he opened his eyes, all he saw were rows of iron bars.
He moved his body slightly and discovered that his hands were bound behind his back, and his legs were also tied together.
With a thought, the fingernail at the tip of his right little finger touched his palm. Yago let out a quiet sigh of relief. It seemed those people did not know he possessed the power of a Titan. In that case, Yago was no longer in a hurry and began carefully observing his surroundings.
Obviously, Yago and the others were inside a cell.
There were several other figures in this cell as well.
Historia and Eren were both tied to pillars, with small balls stuffed into their mouths, similar to the one used that day when Eren was bound at the Reiss family.
Two more figures were lying in the corner. On closer inspection, the one with the bloated figure and a head of graying hair was actually Commander-in-Chief Zackly?
The other, with a smaller build—uh, Mikasa—was tightly bound.
After a while, the sound of footsteps approached. Yago quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious, leaving only a tiny slit to observe the situation.
He saw five black-clad figures wearing strange Vertical Maneuvering Equipment escorting a fat figure toward the cell.
"They're all here?" The obese figure extended a hand covered in gem-studded rings and pointed into the cell as he asked. Yago opened his eyes slightly wider. The man was dressed lavishly, his face full of fat, his chin layered three times over, with a greasy handlebar mustache on his lips. In his left hand, he held a slender, ornate scepter.
"Yes, Lord Claude, they're all here." The one who answered was the girl whose mask Yago had removed earlier.
Bang! As soon as the girl finished speaking, the man called Claude viciously struck her on the head with the slender scepter. The force was so great that even Yago's eyelids twitched slightly.
Yet the girl remained expressionless and lowered her head.
"Ari! I told you to bring back the Queen and Eren who stole the power of the King, as well as that Ackerman and that bastard Zackly. Who is this brat?"
Needless to say, Yago knew Claude was referring to himself.
The girl named Ari hesitated slightly before answering,
"I… I saw that this soldier was very skilled, and he has black hair and black eyes. I thought he might also be an Ackerman…"
Before she could finish, another heavy blow from the scepter landed on her head.
Claude snarled, "I've said it before. Other than you, only those two soldiers from the Survey Corps and that hunting dog Kenny are Ackermans. There are no other Ackermans in this world! You are nothing more than slaves our Claude family created for the King!"
"Yes…" The girl and the other masked black-clad figures all lowered their heads at the same time.
"Wait. I wanted to ask just now—where is your mask?"
Ari raised her head. Her delicate face looked momentarily dazed, but she still answered honestly,
"I lost it. The noise of the operation alerted the surrounding soldiers, so we could only retreat."
Unexpectedly, those words directly sent Claude into a rage. The scepter struck Ari's head again and again.
The brutality was such that even Yago, who was pretending to be unconscious, could hardly bear to watch.
But Ari simply endured it in silence. Yago, however, saw a trace of moisture in Ari's black eyes. Don't misunderstand—this seemed to be merely a physical, instinctive reaction to pain, because there was not the slightest expression on her face.
Instead, the movements of a black-clad figure behind Ari caught Yago's attention. He noticed that when Claude struck Ari's head, the black-clad figure behind her clenched his fists, and there was a faint, concealed killing intent in his black eyes.
...
"This is the only thing we found at the scene." Nile placed a strange mask on the table. At this moment, the influential figures within the Walls had already gathered around it.
Pixis examined the mask in front of him, completely at a loss. The Survey Corps commander Erwin had also arrived at the scene. However, unlike the commander Yago had seen before, Erwin was no longer dejected. His eyes were sharp, his expression resolute—the Erwin everyone knew seemed to have returned.
Everyone present stared at the mask in silence, seemingly unable to recognize it. At this moment, Pixis noticed that a Wall Church priest to the side looked as if he had something to say.
"Priest Manke, do you have any clues?" Pixis asked.
Priest Manke hesitated for a moment before saying,
"I've seen this symbol in the ancient records of the Wall Church. It seems to be the emblem of a family that, long ago, manufactured warrior-attendants for the royal family."
"Warrior-attendants? You mean…?" Erwin seemed to think of something.
"Yes. The Ackerman clan." Priest Manke nodded, confirming Erwin's suspicion.
"Then we have a lead. Priest Manke, do you know which family this is?" Pixis asked sharply.
Priest Manke paused, then spoke a family name that no one present had expected.
"According to the records, it's the Claude family of the Stohess District."
"The Claude family? That pig-raising family??" Everyone was utterly shocked.