Rayan had made this decision after spending the entire night weighing his options, and it was the method he could think of that would resolve his internal conflict the most effectively.
What conflict?
Naturally, the one between reason and emotion.
Reason: Rayan couldn't act against the warrior trio ahead of time. On one hand, he didn't have a foolproof plan, and if he failed, the consequences would be catastrophic. On the other hand, even if he killed the warrior trio... would it really matter? There were two ways to inherit the power of the titans. One was for a mindless titan to eat an intelligent titan—more specifically, to consume the spinal fluid—and thus steal the intelligent titan's power. The lifespan of the inheritor would then become 13 years, calculated from the day of the first transformation. The other method was natural death. After 13 years, the person holding the titan power would die, and the power would randomly transfer to a newborn Eldian infant.
So, even if Rayan managed to kill the warrior trio, it wouldn't be meaningful. The power of the titans would simply transfer to some infant. And that would not help, because the humans within the walls needed the power of the titans to fight against Marley.
In other words, he couldn't kill them; he had to seize their power. This made things more troublesome, but it was worth mentioning that Rayan possessed titan spinal fluid. When he had gotten off the ship, he hadn't only brought guns and food—he had also brought this sinister spinal fluid. However, he had buried it in a place outside Wall Rose, anticipating that he would be interrogated upon entering the walls. Bringing it in would have led to his immediate arrest and certain torture, something he wanted to avoid at all costs.
And then there was the most critical point—Eren's titan transformation.
If Wall Rose wasn't breached, then Eren's titan power wouldn't be revealed. This would lead to a massive shift in the plot, and no one knew what impact that might have, so Rayan couldn't afford to take the risk. That was reason.
Emotionally: No matter how he looked at it, he had spent three years with the trainees of the 104th Squad, and there were definite feelings involved. He wasn't cold-blooded, so he didn't want them to die at the hands of titans. But, rationally, he couldn't interfere with the Colossal Titan's plan to destroy the wall.
After struggling with these conflicting thoughts all night, he came up with a plan: to deceive the warrior trio and secretly relay the information to the Survey Corps.
You see, the reason the warrior trio had chosen this moment to destroy Wall Rose was that the main force of humanity, the Survey Corps, had gone on an expedition outside the walls. Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared take such a risk.
So, Rayan's plan was this: once the wall was breached, Erwin could quickly bring back the Survey Corps. With their combat power, they could minimize casualties in every way possible. This way, no matter what, he could at least ease his own conscience.
Leaving the alley and arriving at the wall, he went up using the elevator. At this moment, people were periodically maintaining the fixed cannons on the wall. The fixed cannons on Wall Rose had originally been decorative, as there hadn't been a titan breach in over a hundred years. The cannons had been rendered meaningless, and the funds allocated for their upkeep had long been diverted to revelry by corrupt soldiers.
However, after Wall Maria had been destroyed five years ago, humanity had realized the magnitude of the threat, so they began taking defense construction seriously. Even though corruption still existed, it wasn't as rampant as it had been before.
"Rayan, you're here," Sasha greeted him. "Oh, by the way! I just stole a lot of meat from the senior officers. I'll share some with you later."
"Okay, thank you." Rayan nodded, looking at Eren, who was currently helping to set up a fixed cannon. Several other soldiers from the 104th Squad were also on the wall.
Rayan subconsciously glanced around, scanning the area with wariness. Sasha, being perceptive, noticed his behavior. "Rayan, are you looking for something?"
"No, just looking around."
Indeed, he was looking for someone—Bertholdt, or more accurately, the Colossal Titan.
If Bertholdt was going to transform, he would definitely make sure to get outside the wall first. He wouldn't transform inside and then appear outside. After all, among the Nine Titans, only the "War Hammer Titan" could separate its human form from its titan form and still control it. The others couldn't.
Suddenly, something caught his eye. Rayan abruptly turned his head and saw, on the other side of the wall, a suspicious figure in a black robe jumping off the wall.
At that moment, no one else noticed the figure—only Rayan, who was deliberately looking. No one would expect someone to jump off the wall. After all, there had never been a suicide attempt before, and not just anyone could reach this wall. The Garrison Regiment soldiers guarded the elevators below, and only soldiers were allowed to pass. Ordinary civilians were forbidden from climbing the walls.
The royal government even had policies forbidding the public from expressing curiosity about the world outside the walls. You could think about it secretly, but if you spoke it aloud, you were branded as spreading heresy. The government wouldn't directly arrest you for it but would make sure you "accidentally" died.
A tragic example was Erwin's father. As a teacher, he had shared many of his speculations with Erwin. Lacking awareness, young Erwin had told others, and that led to his father's tragic death. This event was part of why Erwin had joined the Survey Corps—he wanted to explore the world and, perhaps, seek revenge for his father.
"It's starting," Rayan murmured, pressing his hands on the hilt of the sword at his waist, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. If Erwin saw the note, he wouldn't remain indifferent. He, too, must be watching from afar.
Outside the wall, in a village.
"Say, why are we staying here?"
"Who knows..."
"What is the Commander thinking?"
"Just follow orders!"
A group of Survey Corps soldiers were hiding behind houses as per Erwin's orders. They didn't know why they were there. This small village was only about a six or seven-minute ride from the wall. After Erwin had brought them here, he had quickly eliminated the dozen or so titans roaming the village and instructed everyone to stay.
At this moment, the soldiers were watching a few figures not far ahead, waiting for further instructions.
"Erwin, are you sure this guy isn't joking?" Levi asked.
"Not sure," Erwin replied. "But if it's true and we ignore it, the consequences will be unbearable."
"Yeah," Hange said, glancing at the distant wall with concern. "If this wall falls again, then humanity..."
"Humanity will definitely fall into civil war."
Once Wall Rose was breached, humanity wouldn't casually sacrifice 250,000 people like they had before. The impact of that event hadn't been erased. Many of the newly emerging theft and robbery gangs in the underground district were families of the 250,000 who had died.
Furthermore, Wall Rose had a much larger population than Wall Maria, and many nobles resided in the "interior." Within the political system of the walls, nobles were allowed private armies. If their lives were threatened, they would definitely unite. If Wall Sina didn't let them in, a massive civil war would erupt. The blood spilled in such a conflict could easily surpass what the titans had claimed.
"Wall Rose cannot be lost."
"However, if this information is true, this 'informant' will be crucial," Erwin said, his gaze steely. "We must find him."
"Tch, not that easy, right?" Levi clicked his tongue." Just looking at those crooked letters, you can tell they were written with the left hand. Besides, this person deliberately used a child to deliver the message. Clearly, they don't want to reveal their identity."
"No, Levi," Erwin suddenly said, "If the information is true, it means this informant is on humanity's side. As long as we show enough trust, I think they will reveal themselves. The reason for the disguise is simply that they can't fully trust us yet."
"Is that so?"
"In that case..."
Suddenly, the sky and earth seemed to change color. A massive light erupted in front of the wall—like thunderous rage and howling winds. In an instant, a sixty-meter-tall titan appeared out of thin air on the ground!
"It... it appeared... it actually appeared!" Hange half-covered her eyes in disbelief.
Erwin, stunned at first, then slightly smiled. But the next moment, his smile faded as he mounted his horse, raised his blade, and shouted, "Target! Colossal Titan! Advance!"
"Yes!"
All the Survey Corps soldiers shouted in unison, mounted their horses, and followed Erwin towards the wall. At the same time, the ground began to shake violently.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Erwin suddenly turned his head and saw, in the distance, titans rushing toward them. And the titan at the front was running faster, as if... leading the charge?
A terrifying thought crossed his mind.
Why had so many titans flooded in shortly after Wall Maria was destroyed five years ago? If the Colossal Titan had been responsible for destroying the gate, then... was the titan at the front in the distance... leading the other titans?
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