"You damned peasants, tell me where my son is right now! If my son doesn't come back, none of you are getting inside!"
A slightly plump, lavishly dressed middle-aged man stood at the city gate, shouting at the residents crowded outside.
"How would we know where your son is?"
"Your son might already have been eaten by a Titan! Go look for him yourself!"
"Let us in!"
The residents all shouted in outrage.
Unable to stand it any longer, a guard at the Inner City gate addressed Duke Barren:
"Duke Barren, the Titans will be here any moment. Please let the residents into the city immediately."
Duke Barren glanced grimly at the scattered Titans in the distance and said:
"No. These people came from the same district as my son. If my son can't be found, what do I care whether they live or die?"
The guard clenched his fists and turned away, unable to bear the sight, but he didn't dare say anything else. His family was already inside, after all. He had no reason to take such a huge risk.
Just then, Chen Si retracted his grappling hooks high overhead and dropped straight onto the ground outside the gate. The impact shattered the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust, making Duke Barren's nearby butler cough.
"What fell down? Was it a Titan?" Duke Barren broke out in a cold sweat.
"Hurry up and check whether it's a Titan," Duke Barren nervously ordered the guard beside him.
The guard nervously drew his blade and inched forward.
Chen Si slowly emerged from the dust, his gaze fierce and his eyes gleaming coldly.
"It's the soldier who fought the Colossal Titan!" a sharp-eyed resident shouted excitedly.
This group of residents had evacuated relatively late, and some had witnessed Chen Si's battle with the Colossal Titan.
A woman holding a baby approached Chen Si and dropped straight to her knees.
"Sir, please let my child inside," the woman pleaded through her tears.
Chen Si caught the woman with one hand, stopping her from kneeling, then took out his military token and stared straight at Duke Barren.
"Soldier, these residents are connected to my son's disappearance. They must cooperate with the investigation." Chen Si's stare unsettled Duke Barren, but once he realized this was merely an unfamiliar recruit, he assumed an imposing air.
"Fuck your investigation!" Chen Si swore outright.
"You..." Duke Barren jumped in fright, then flared with anger.
"How dare you! How dare you show Duke Barren such disrespect! Our master provides you with enormous military funding every year, yet you show no gratitude! Not only have you accomplished nothing and allowed countless Titans into the city, you feel no remorse and even dare defy our noble Duke Barren!"
The Handlebar-Mustached Butler beside him launched into a tirade at Chen Si.
"What the fuck does that have to do with me? How much money did you give me?" Chen Si scratched his ear, utterly unconcerned.
The children in the crowd watched Chen Si challenge the noble with stars in their eyes.
The guards nearby tensed. Wasn't this year's Top Graduate? Was his promising future really going to be ruined by this bastard duke?
"You! Y-you! You will face our punishment! Not even Pixis can save you." The butler hadn't expected Chen Si to be such a troublemaker, refusing to show him even the slightest respect in front of everyone.
"That's enough. Shut the fuck up and take a good look at what I'm holding. Commander Pixis has ordered the immediate evacuation of all residents. Anyone who obstructs it will be executed on the spot," Chen Si said, thoroughly irritated.
"I'll count to three. Open the gate."
"Three!" Chen Si instantly drew his blade.
"Wait! I'll open it!" Duke Barren broke out in a cold sweat. He had never encountered a soldier so unafraid of death. Dying at the hands of some reckless greenhorn would be the worst luck imaginable.
Duke Barren looked at the military token in Chen Si's hand and felt a jolt of alarm. A military token! Nobles like them had no military authority, only household retainers.
Duke Barren didn't dare say anything more. He knew Pixis was difficult to deal with, but sooner or later, he would get revenge on this soldier. Pixis may be hard to handle, but surely I can deal with a recruit like you.
Seeing this, the butler quietly leaned over and whispered something in Duke Barren's ear.
Duke Barren was delighted and accepted a token from the butler.
"Look closely! This is a Royal Government token, bestowed upon me by the great King Fritz! Do you and your commander intend to commit treason?" Duke Barren raised the token and spoke loudly.
Despair filled the faces of the residents outside the gate. If this was an order from the Royal Government, especially from the King himself, they didn't dare resist.
What a fucking pain. What kind of bullshit Royal Government token is that? The current King is a fake anyway. Those high-ranking nobles probably forge these things in bulk and sell them, Chen Si thought.
"Ahahaha, Duke Barren, you truly are an honest and trustworthy man. Actually, I wanted to tell you that your only son has been found. He's injured, so please come and collect him. He's in a house just nearby."
Chen Si sheathed his blade, put on a harmless smile, and casually pointed at a house.
"What? Take me there now! If you're too slow and anything happens to my son, you'll pay for it!" Duke Barren said.
Chen Si watched Duke Barren and his butler follow him without the slightest suspicion. He couldn't tell whether the duke genuinely cared about his son or was simply a fucking idiot.
Chen Si didn't know that after fathering this one child, the duke's nightly debauchery had left him impotent and unable to have another. This son was the sole remaining heir to his vast estate. Besides, Duke Barren simply didn't believe a newly graduated recruit would dare deceive them.
Chen Si couldn't be bothered to waste time. He rounded a corner into a blind spot and slashed twice, cutting both their throats. Then he spotted two Titans running toward him and hurled the corpses straight at them. Both Titans happened to have their mouths open.
"Woohoo! Bull's-eye!" Chen Si clapped excitedly as the two corpses landed in the Titans' mouths.
Chen Si returned to the gate with an expression of profound grief and shouted to the residents:
"The valiant Duke Barren fought alongside his butler to the very end in an effort to save his child."
The guards at the gate looked utterly bewildered, with no idea what had happened.
The residents were equally confused. That bloodsucking Duke Barren had actually died fighting?
"Mom, that soldier must have killed that villain Duke Barren for us," a little boy said with a child's uninhibited candor.
"Shh! Don't say things like that, understand?" His mother hurriedly covered his mouth. She didn't want them to get Chen Si into trouble.
The residents all pretended they hadn't heard the boy. Their hearts were filled with gratitude toward Chen Si, and they had already decided that once they entered the Inner City, they would say Duke Barren had died in a Titan's mouth.
The guards hurriedly opened the gate. Just as the crowd was about to surge inside, a caravan of wagons suddenly barreled straight into them, forcing everyone to dodge aside.
Fuck, does this ever end? Chen Si rubbed his forehead, ready to draw his blade and finish off this Chairman Di Mo What Si with a single slash.
"Big brother!" A voice rang out, clear as a silver bell yet deeply restrained.
"Mikasa!" Chen Si caught Mikasa in his arms as she threw herself against him.
"Chen Si!" Carla's voice came from beside them.
"Auntie! Why haven't you gone inside?" Chen Si asked in delighted surprise.
"I thought you looked injured, so I went to find you all and fell a little behind," Carla said with a smile.
Touched, Chen Si exchanged a few words with her before urging her to hurry into the Inner City. Knowing he had duties to attend to, Carla didn't delay him.
"Mikasa, I need to go support Eren and the others. Titans have already reached the area near the Inner City gate. It looks like the front line has collapsed," Chen Si said.
"Big brother, I'm coming too," Mikasa said quickly.
"Mikasa, stay here for now and make sure Auntie Carla evacuates safely. The front line should be extremely dangerous right now. Don't worry about me." With that, Chen Si gave her a meaningful look and glanced toward the Merchants' Guild chairman blocking the gate.
Mikasa understood immediately, a trace of murderous intent flashing in her eyes. That damned bastard blocked the residents and kept me from meeting up with my brother.
"Mikasa, take this blade. It's practically impossible to break. If you run short of blades, use this one." Chen Si gave Mikasa his only tempered blade.
Paradis Island was different now, so he didn't want Mikasa in danger. He needed to do everything he could to keep the people close to him safe.
Mikasa stared intently at the blade in her hand and tightened her grip. Big brother, wait for me.
With a hiss of gas, Chen Si operated his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and gradually disappeared from view.
Mikasa turned around, sheathed the blade, drew another, and charged toward the city gate with murderous intent.