"Bang!"
"Bang!"
..."Hoo~"
Lock repeatedly raised his legs and kicked the wooden stake in front of him. He had been repeating this for over two hours, and the pain and fatigue were torturing him.
He was covered in sweat. Finally, unable to hold on any longer, he bent over and rested his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
His father, standing nearby with his arms crossed, said, "Are you tired? Annie."
"But all of this is to complete the mission, and completing the mission is the meaning of your existence in this world!"
Lock lowered his head and let the sweat drip down. Facing this man, Lock knew he could do nothing but obey.
He looked up at the wooden stake in front of him, gritted his teeth, and raised his leg to kick again.
But that man seemed as if he would never be satisfied...
"Bang!"
Lock fell to his knees, and the world seemed to shake.
What was the meaning of this kind of life? This man was just doing this so he could live a good life himself, forcing him to endure this pain at his age.
"Annie! Stand up!"
"You are not allowed to rest. I command you to stand up and continue!"
"Do you think you can complete the mission like this?"
The man walked over, picked him up, and shouted at him, "Did you hear me, Annie!"
"Ah!" Lock looked at the man and finally exploded.
Like a madman, using the movements he had repeated countless times, he kicked the man's leg.
One after another...
Lock didn't know how many times he had kicked. Even though he was tired enough to faint, the moment he first resisted the man, it felt as if an infinite power surged through his body.
It wasn't until the man completely collapsed on the ground that Lock realized what he had done...
Soon after, the man appeared before him with a cast on his left leg and leaning on a crutch.
"The doctor said that Papa's leg can no longer recover to its original state."
Lock looked at the man with wide eyes, his heart filled with self-reproach and guilt.
But the man walked up to Lock and gently stroked his head, saying, "Well done, Annie, you can still become even stronger!"
This was the first time this man had praised him.
Lock stared blankly at the smile on the man's face, his heart touched for the first time...
The rain poured down, and Lock ran on the muddy mountain road carrying a rifle and a heavy load.
The Marleyan officer sat on his horse and shouted, "Who told you to walk? Run! You descendants of filthy pigs, it seems you don't want to become Honorary Marleyans, do you?!"
At this level of training, Lock felt exceptionally relaxed; it was all thanks to his father.
Loyalty, physical fitness, marksmanship, intelligence, combat... The Marleyan military comprehensively selected seven Warrior Candidates based on these five aspects.
"Bang!"
Lock easily flipped Reiner onto the ground.
"Annie Leonhart, your performance is impeccable. You pass!"
When Lock returned home with the yellow armband, his father praised him with relief once again.
"Well done, Annie, Papa knew you could do it."
...Marley was about to launch an operation against Paradis Island, and they directly selected six people from the Warrior Candidates to inherit the Titans.
[Zeke Yeager] — Beast Titan.
[Pieck Finger] — Cart Titan.
[Reiner Braun] — Armored Titan.
[Bertholdt Hoover] — Colossal Titan.
[Marcel Galliard] — Jaw Titan.
[Annie Leonhart] — Female Titan.
Soon, the latter four warriors reached the day of their departure.
Standing at the stern of the battleship, Lock could not find his father's figure on the shore. His father had difficulty walking, so naturally, he couldn't come.
Thinking of the words his father had said while crying and hugging him yesterday, he lowered his head in silence...
The Marleyan military left after dropping them off on the island. The warships would come to the island every night of the full moon, and they needed to bring the Founding Titan by then.
A problem occurred during the first night of the march. A Titan that happened to be sleeping beneath the campsite emerged from the ground at sunrise and ate the leader of the four.
Because Reiner chose to run away immediately, Lock and Bertholdt panicked as well and could only chase after Reiner to escape the scene.
Lock caught up with Reiner and gave him a sound beating.
Ultimately, however, he was still persuaded by the other party and chose to continue fulfilling Marley's mission...
After destroying the walls, they mixed in with the Maria refugees and entered Wall Rose.
Due to the issues with their Titan abilities, Reiner and Bertholdt stayed in the reclamation area, while Lock infiltrated the Capital to gather intelligence.
"So King Fritz is just a body double?"
Lock watched the two of them dealing with the thick tree stumps, with no intention of helping at all.
He said calmly, "He is just a puppet. Moreover, the families of the Capital City Councilors at the highest level within the walls are all Eldians who rose to power by flattering King Fritz a hundred years ago. None of them are of the People of Ymir."
Reiner, bare-chested, pushed hard against the wooden pole used for prying the stump and said with effort, "Perhaps King Fritz doesn't want anyone who can seize the Founding Titan to be by his side."
"And they exchanged their administrative licensing rights for the price of secrecy and loyalty."
Bertholdt chopped at the surrounding tree roots with an axe and said, "In that case, we just need to infiltrate their families, right? They should have contact with the real King."
Lock looked at Bertholdt and asked, "How? Apply as a servant, or should I seduce the men of their families and marry into them?"
Bertholdt hurriedly objected, "That won't do!"
Lock didn't care about Bertholdt's loss of composure. He said, "Indeed, it won't work. It's precisely because they are not Subjects of Ymir that they can ascend to the center of power. They won't let lowly bloodlines pollute their families."
"After the walls were destroyed, they haven't even recruited new servants."
Speaking of this, Lock paused for a moment:
"However, there is one Family that is an exception."
Reiner asked, "Which one?"
Lock said, "The Leon Family."
He ground the soil under his feet and explained, "The current head of the Leon Family was the only noble who entered the Capital City Council as a Subject of Ymir."
"However, he retired after the walls were broken. I heard he is seriously ill and doesn't have much time left."
Hearing this, Reiner said, "It seems he rose to power through his strength and gained trust, but because of his bloodline, he was feared by King Fritz and was still driven out of the center after the walls broke."
He looked at Annie and asked, "Can we get close?"
Lock said casually, "I'm fine either way, but I don't think I have the charm to seduce men."
Bertholdt quickly said, "That's not true at all!"
Lock was a bit surprised: "Thanks."
Fearing Annie might misunderstand, Bertholdt added, "But I still don't agree with letting Annie do this alone. Now that the walls are broken, the Leon Family must be on their guard as well."
"With our current identities, it's still hard to gain their trust."
"Reiner, don't you agree?"
Reiner glanced at Bertholdt and nodded anyway. "Bertholdt has a point. It's still too dangerous with the nobles. According to the people here, they have a habit of beating and torturing servants at will. Although Annie isn't afraid, it would be troublesome if her identity were exposed."
Bertholdt breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Then is there any other way?"
Reiner wiped the sweat from his face and said, "Become soldiers, and then find a way to get close to the Central Military Police."
Lock was dissatisfied: "Do you know how long that will take? Wouldn't it be simpler to just destroy Rose and Sina directly?"
Reiner stared at Annie and said, "That is indeed the fastest way to force the King within the walls to show himself. But in that case, even if the King doesn't want to fight, he will try to use the power of the Founding Titan to turn everything around, right?"
"At that time, the whole world will have to be buried with us because of what we did."
Lock was persuaded by Reiner again...
"What is your name?"
"Lock Leon!"
"Why are you here?"
"To restore the glory of my father's generation and become the Hand of the King once again!"
Reiner looked at Lock running in the field and said to Annie beside him, "Try to make contact. Even if he knows nothing, he might be useful in the future."
Lock's face was full of annoyance, very dissatisfied with Reiner's whimsical ideas.
"If you want to go, you go. Aren't you the best at talking? Maybe you can become good friends with that noble young master."
After saying that, Lock turned and left.
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