"Guards of the manor, listen up. You are surrounded. Lay down your arms immediately!"Outside the vast Claude Manor, hundreds of fully armed Military Police and Garrison troops completely encircled the sizable estate.
Military Police Commander Nile and a group of top military officials were personally on site. The people Claude had kidnapped this time were far too important: the queen about to inherit the throne, Commander-in-Chief Zackly, the legendary holder of the Founding power, Eren, and Yago, who possessed knowledge about the world beyond the island.
Inside Claude Manor, there were naturally many servants and guards, but most of them were ordinary people who knew nothing. They had never seen such a formation before. The servants had long since run out to surrender. Not surrender? Hundreds of pitch-black gun barrels outside the manor were pointed straight at them.
The guards inside the manor were also shaken. Just a little over twenty guards with barely more than a dozen muskets—how could they dare oppose the Military Police and the Garrison?
"Prepare to fire!" a Military Police captain roared. At once, the Military Police and Garrison troops behind him raised their muskets in unison.
"Wait! Wait! We surrender!" A guard from Claude Manor, pale with terror, threw down his musket and raised both hands.
The other guards followed suit, raising their hands as well.
The Military Police and Garrison troops immediately surged forward, charging into the manor to begin a search.
...
"What? They all surrendered? Bunch of useless trash! I've never treated them badly!" Claude was furious when he heard the report that all the guards had surrendered, though he had never really expected them to hold off the Military Police for long.
A family with centuries of legacy naturally had the ability to cultivate its own loyalists. Besides the Ackerman warrior retainers under his command, Claude also had a thirty-man group of utterly devoted guards.
"Master, the young master has been brought over!" Two guards pushed an oversized reclining chair forward.
Yago took a careful look and sucked in a sharp breath.
"Good grief, what kind of wild boar turned into a demon is this?"
On the chair lay a mass of flesh nearly twice Claude's weight, his facial features almost completely indistinguishable, with only a mouth that was still somewhat visible.
"I'm hungry! Give me food!" The lump of flesh spoke, sending chills through Yago's entire body. Could you imagine a man in his thirties making a childlike, coquettish voice?
Turning his head, Yago saw Historia's eyes wide open—clearly badly frightened.
"Son, don't rush. Your father has broken his back for you." Claude let out a cold laugh, then immediately directed several guards to take his son away first and retreat.
Yago scanned the surroundings.
"We can't wait anymore. This farce should end." His sharp nails had already dug into his palm.
...
Brilliant yellow arcs of electricity lit up the entire underground passage.
Who would have thought that beneath Claude Manor lay such a spacious and complex network of tunnels?
Before the astonished eyes of the Military Police, the Garrison troops, and Claude's guards—
From within the yellow lightning, a lithe Titan strode forward. Beneath golden hair, azure eyes brimmed with killing intent as the Female Titan let out a furious roar.
"You bastards! How dare you kidnap my Yago! You deserve to die!!"
Annie, within the nape of the Female Titan, was already furious beyond measure.
When she learned that Yago had been kidnapped, Annie had nearly gone mad. She was the first to rush into Claude Manor. When the Military Police discovered the manor's secret underground entrance, Annie was also the first to charge in. Facing musket fire from Claude's guards who held the terrain advantage, the enraged Annie immediately twisted her ring, pierced her finger, and transformed into the Female Titan.
"Stop her!" Claude's guards fired wildly at the Female Titan, but mere musket balls were nothing more than a scratch to her.
The Female Titan crouched low and charged straight at the guards.
"Get out of the way!"
Crack—hardening covered the Female Titan's fist as it smashed down violently, blood spraying everywhere.
Another brutal stomp followed, coming straight down on a guard frozen in terror.
The remaining guards were utterly terrified by the Female Titan's savagery and turned to flee.
Murderous intent filled the Female Titan's blue eyes as she lifted her leg and chased after them.
Only then did the Military Police and Garrison troops, who had been watching for quite a while, finally react. A Garrison captain hesitantly asked the Military Police captain beside him,
"Uh… that Titan… is it on our side?"
The Military Police captain nodded stiffly.
"Uh… probably… yes?"
...
Just as Yago's nails cut into his palm and a trace of yellow lightning began to spread from it, he suddenly lifted his head in shock. He felt a pulse—a familiar sensation. A flash of green light passed through Yago's dark eyes.
"This is… Annie? Annie found this place?" Yago suddenly realized the source of that pulse. It was Annie! For some reason, Yago could feel that Annie was here—and very close!
"Master! This is bad! A Titan has broken in! Half the guards are already dead!" The report from his subordinate threw Claude into panic.
"A Titan? How could there be a Titan? No—impossible!" Claude had never imagined that a Titan would storm in here. Hadn't he already captured Historia and Eren? How could there still be a Titan?
Panicked, Claude could no longer sit still. He immediately ordered the two black-clad men beside him, the Ackermans One and Five, to cover his retreat.
"Take the queen and the Founding power, and this Ackerman as well. Kill the other two directly! Hurry!"
"Hey, wait. You're Ackermans—weren't you supposed to devote yourselves to the king? The king is right in front of you now. Are you still listening to this guy?" Yago shouted at the two Ackermans.
"What are you trying to do? One, Five, don't listen to him. Kill him immediately!" Claude pointed at Yago.
"But Lord Claude did say that we were to devote ourselves to the royal family," One suddenly said.
"Don't forget your first rule! Obey all orders of the Claude family!" Claude said coldly.
"Obey all orders of the Claude family." One murmured, then turned, drew his dagger, and walked toward Yago.
"What a joke. I knew this guy was up to no good," Yago said disdainfully as he looked at Claude. Training Ackermans for the royal family—ha.
Yago then looked at One approaching him.
"So we're doing this the hard way?" Yellow lightning surged from Yago's palm once more.