Leaving the Capital
Arriving at the Train in the Marley Capital, Yago noticed that the atmosphere had become even more somber. The last time Yago was here, although the Train was mostly filled with Soldiers, there were still quite a few ordinary passengers.
However, when Yago arrived at the Train this time, there were almost no ordinary passengers to be seen. Everywhere there were Soldiers in military uniforms, and these Soldiers were different from the Eldia Forces who had gone to the front lines unarmed before.
The Soldiers in front of Yago were all fully armed and equipped, and their Soldiers were different from those of the Eldia Forces before them. The Eldia Forces Soldiers almost all had long faces as they boarded the Train and headed to the front lines.
These Soldiers all wore expressions of varying degrees of arrogance, and most importantly, they did not have the Armband that signified Eldians.
This also explains the identities of these Soldiers; they are all genuine Marley Soldiers, and the only Marleyan army stationed in the capital seems to be the renowned Guard Corps.
It is said that the former Guard Corps, with a force of 30,000, once held off and annihilated more than 100,000 Rebels during the suppression of a colonial rebellion. This battle made the Guard Corps famous throughout the world, and the Marshal of Marley even personally led the high-ranking Marley military officials to award Medal to every Soldiers.
Since then, the Janissaries have been regarded by the Marleyan as an invincible army. Of course, the Guard Corps were famous for the ambush and annihilation battle that year, while the 50,000 Eldia Forces who were covering the Guard Corps on their flanks were completely ignored. In the end, the Eldia Forces attracted all the Rebels' firepower and were wiped out, which gave the Guard Corps the opportunity to win.
The sacrifices of the Eldians were thus forgotten and destined never to be mentioned again. In the history of the war in Marley, you will only ever find the failures and incompetence of the Eldia Forces, but never a single battle in which the Eldia Forces achieved victory.
The Soldiers of the Guard Corps in the station seemed to be still basking in their past glory, still believing themselves to be an invincible army.
The Train began boarding. Yago wrapped a scarf around his neck; he'd casually picked it up from Wick's General Store. Yago was still a bit confused by yesterday's events—why were the Marley Soldiers calling him Lieutenant Colonel?
After putting on the scarf, Yago reached out to help Mr. Leonhardt, who was walking with a limp. Years ago, Annie's broken leg left Mr. Leonhardt with a mark that could never be erased—a broken leg. But Mr. Leonhardt was not angry or regretful; he only felt deeply sorry for his daughter.
The red Armband had long been thrown into the trash by Mr. Leonhardt, and the low-rise houses in the Liberio Internment Zone had been arranged by Yago. At this moment, those houses should have already been set on fire by the homeless people.
Mr. Leonhardt, bundled up tightly except for his eyes, limped after Yago toward the ticket inspector at the train door.
The ticket inspector frowned as he looked at the heavily bundled-up Mr. Leonhardt. "Wait, why are you being so secretive? Who are you going? Show your faces."
Considering that Mr. Leonhardt was once Honorary Marleyan, he might be recognized by someone on the street, which is why Yago made him cover his face.
Yago reached out and stopped the ticket inspector's hand, which naturally displeased the latter. Just as he was about to lash out, Yago handed him an ID.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a universal pass, an unusual item that belonged to no ordinary person. The ticket inspector hesitated for a moment. Just then, Yago approached and whispered, "Sir, please understand, my father is still ill, which is why he's dressed in extra layers. We're heading to the Texi Province to get my father's leg checked out. Could you please make an exception?"
After saying that, Yago subtly slipped two large-denomination banknotes into the ticket inspector's pocket. The ticket inspector immediately looked around guiltily, then smiled and said, "Okay, okay, of course you can. You're so kind. Please get on the bus quickly, it'll be leaving soon."
Yago smiled, feeling quite relaxed, and then helped Mr. Leonhardt onto the Train, but just as they stepped onto the stairs, a voice came from behind them.
"Etc!"
Yago stiffened for a moment, but calmly turned around. He saw the ticket collector holding a straight cane. "Seeing that your father has difficulty walking, this cane is for you."
Yago was somewhat taken aback, but he still accepted the cane and thanked him.
"Whoosh!!" The whistle sounded, and with a clang, the wheels began to turn under the power of coal, and the Train slowly began to carry this large group of Soldiers and passengers away from the capital of Marley.
Watching the scenery rushing past the window, Yago silently processed what he had learned from this trip to the Marley Capital. His first priority was to bring Mr. Leonhardt back, so that Annie could rest assured.
Then there's Ebson. The bad news is, Ebson really did create a new Intelligent Titan, a Titan that had never appeared in Big Eren's Memories before. This puts immense pressure on Yago, who doesn't believe that Ebson simply wanted to help Marley.
At Louis Estate, he also fought the War Hammer Titan and unexpectedly obtained the War Hammer's blood. This greatly tempted Yago, as the War Hammer's power was very practical and formidable. However, considering the circumstances at the time, Yago was unsure whether he would have fainted if he had chosen to obtain the War Hammer's power then. After all, the power of the Female Titan, the Jaw Titan, Attack Titan had all made Yago faint.
Therefore, Yago decided to wait until he was settled before considering acquiring the War Hammer Titan Power.
He pulled out two small glass vials filled with blood from his pocket, one labeled "War Hammer" and the other "Colossal." To Yago, both vials contained immense power.
Yago suddenly wondered, what would the Fate Titan become if it gained all the powers of the other Intelligent Titan?
The body of the Colossal Titan? The armor of the Armored Titan? The Beast Titan? The claws of the Jaw Titan? The adaptation of the Female Titan? The durability of the Cart Titan? The weapon of the War Hammer Titan? The freedom of the Attack Titan? Yago couldn't even imagine what such Fate Titan would be like.
Shaking his head to banish unrealistic thoughts, Yago put the two glass bottles back into his arms.
Oh, and those Eldia Restorationists... Wick said he'd start making arrangements soon...
In those short two or three days, Yago felt that he had truly "fulfilled" his time.
On the other side, Mr. Leonhardt was also looking at Yago in front of him. The skinny little boy who used to follow behind his daughter in his memory had grown into such a tall and handsome man. What had his daughter become now?
According to Yago, Annie is waiting for them in the Texi Province. That means they'll see their daughter in just a few hours. Suddenly, a sense of fear gripped Mr. Leonhardt's heart. He feared what would happen when he saw his daughter—would she reject him? Would she not recognize him...?