Lieutenant Colonel
The wooden door was being pounded on loudly as two Marley Soldiers carrying Rifle were roughly knocking on the door of the low house in front of them.
Being summoned from the Military Camp to search for remnants of the Eldia Restorationists greatly displeased the two Marley Soldiers. They were elite troops of the Guard Corps, and being ordered to carry out what seemed like police duties? What kind of order was this?
This was a humiliation for the arrogant Guard Corps, especially since they had just received orders to assemble and head to the front lines to deal with those ignorant Middle East bearded men. Fighting for their country was what the noble Guard Corps should be doing! Of course, in the eyes of these proud Guard Corps Soldiers, the Middle Easterners were no match for them, and the defeat at the Marley front was entirely due to the useless Eldia Forces.
Such prejudice worsened the perception of Eldians among most Marley Army Soldiers. Moreover, this was a search within Eldians Internment Zone, so the Marley Soldiers' hostile attitude was predictably appalling. Countless innocent Eldians have already been severely injured by these disgruntled Marley Soldiers.
The Marley Soldiers, one tall and one short, were banging on the door, both looking impatient. The taller Marley Soldiers couldn't wait any longer, so he took off his Rifle, raised the butt, and prepared to smash it down.
Just as the rifle butt was about to strike, the wooden door opened, and Leonhardt stepped out first. Looking at the fully armed Soldiers, the ordinary-looking middle-aged man seemed somewhat at a loss.
"Hey, old man, have you seen any unfamiliar Eldians carrying weapons lately?" the tall Marley Soldiers asked rudely.
Mr. Leonhardt hesitated and shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't see it."
The tall Marley Soldiers frowned, poking Mr. Leonhardt on the shoulder with his superior posture, and asked, "Really nothing? Then why did it take you so long to open the door? Tell me! Were you hiding something?!"
Mr. Leonhardt frowned as well. He didn't understand why this Marley Soldiers was being so rude, but Mr. Leonhardt was also stubborn, and he directly retorted, "No, sir, I don't know what you're talking about. I've made it very clear that I've never seen those people you're referring to! Please don't be unreasonable!"
Seeing Mr. Leonhardt's tough attitude, the tall Marley Soldiers was also enraged. How dare an Eldians be so arrogant in front of him!?
"You old codger, how dare you talk back?!" the tall Marley Soldiers roared, swinging his rifle butt.
But the shorter Marley Soldiers beside him stopped him and pointed to the red Armband on Mr. Leonhardt's arm, "Honorary Marleyan?" The taller Marley Soldiers was taken aback; he hadn't noticed and never expected the old man in front of him to be Honorary Marleyan.
How could Honorary Marleyan live in such a dilapidated place? But Honorary Marleyan are different from ordinary Marleyan; they are the families of those Titan Warriors. Ordinary Marley Soldiers still have to give them some respect, after all, those Titan Warriors are Marley's best weapons.
After learning of Mr. Leonhardt's status Honorary Marleyan, the Marley Soldiers no longer wanted to cause trouble. If this Honorary Marleyan were to cause an uproar, it wouldn't benefit them much. After all, in order to ensure that the Titan Warriors could fight with peace of mind, the Marley Government would still "care" about their families.
The two Marley Soldiers stopped arguing and turned to leave. Mr. Leonhardt glanced at them coldly and prepared to go back inside, but he clearly heard the whispers of the two Marley Soldiers.
"Who is this old Titan Warriors's relative? Why is he living in this lousy place?"
"I've heard of them before; I think they were family members of the Female Titan died on Paradis Island."
"Heh, that's it? I thought it was someone special. The fact that the Female Titan Power has been lost means that warrior is a piece of trash. What kind of family does a piece of trash have to be Honorary Marleyan? Bah!"
"What Honorary Marleyan? What a joke! Eldians are just Eldians, a bunch of damned demon descendants. Ridiculous! They think wearing an Armband makes them Marleyan? They're nothing but obedient dogs!"
These words Mr. Leonhardt's heart like a sharp thorn. The Marley Soldiers' insults to his daughter angered him, and their contempt for the Honorary Marleyan saddened Mr. Leonhardt even more. He had almost personally trained his daughter into a cold-blooded machine for the sake of the obedient dog status these Marley Soldiers spoke of.
But this Honorary Marleyan identity they received was seen as being like a dog by the Marleyan —how ironic!
Enraged, Mr. Leonhardt, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed a bamboo cup from the table and smashed it against two departing Marley Soldiers.
Thump! The tall Marley Soldiers who was talking suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He cried out in pain, clutched his head, and turned around to see a bamboo cup lying on the ground with a little blood on its rim.
The tall Marley Soldiers reached down and touched his hand; sure enough, it was stained with blood. Enraged, he raised his Rifle, aimed at Mr. Leonhardt, and roared, "Old man, are you asking for it?!"
But Mr. Leonhardt just stared fiercely at the Marley Soldiers, showing no sign of fear.
At this tense moment, a furious shout suddenly came from the side, "Stop!"
Wearing Trench Coat, Yago rushed to the Marley Soldiers's side. Before the Marley Soldiers could react, he swiftly snatched the gun and followed up with a side kick, sending the Marley Soldiers flying.
Suddenly, Mr. Leonhardt Yago the two Marley Soldiers appeared.
Yago looked at Mr. Leonhardt and asked with concern, "Are you alright, Yue, uh, Mr. Leonhardt?"
Mr. Leonhardt paused for a moment, then nodded. Yago immediately turned to look at the two Marley Soldiers, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. How dare they point a gun at my father-in-law!?
The two Marley Soldiers were also stunned, but not with shock or anger; they were more surprised.
The Marley Soldiers was kicked away by Yago, in particular, did not show anger on his face, but rather astonishment.
Before Yago could speak, the tall Marley Soldiers carefully examined Yago's face, hesitated for a moment, then decisively saluted and said, "Lieutenant Colonel, what are you doing here? Are you here to inspect the mission?"
Upon hearing this, both Yago and Mr. Leonhardt were stunned. Lieutenant Colonel?
The shorter Marley Soldiers to the taller one was also stunned. He blinked, looked carefully at Yago's face, then at the taller Marley Soldiers saluting, and then saluted as well, "Sir!"
A huge question mark appeared in his mind, but Yago's expression remained cold and calm.
Seeing Yago's calm demeanor, the tall Marley Soldiers's mind became clearer and clearer about the face—it was indeed the Lieutenant Colonel he had encountered that morning!