The Fall of Wall Maria

Just then, Bai Yu suddenly sensed something and looked into the distance. There stood a fifteen-meter Titan covered in armor, wisps of white steam drifting from his body.

Bai Yu narrowed his eyes slightly at the Armored Titan. Beside him, Xiate looked puzzled.

"What is it?"

Bai Yu shrugged, then spoke as though he had lost interest.

"Nothing. It's just that Wall Maria is about to fall..."

He lowered his voice enough that only Eren and the others nearby could hear. They all looked over, their eyes filled with confusion and renewed fear.

Eren spoke up in disbelief.

"How is that possible...?"

Bai Yu simply pointed at the Armored Titan that had appeared in the distance without anyone noticing and spoke helplessly.

"That gate, I reckon..."

Before Bai Yu could finish, everyone stared blankly into the distance. The armored Titan charged toward the gate. Cannonballs struck his body one after another, but they did nothing to stop him, while the soldiers atop the wall frantically lowered the gate.

They managed to lower it in time, but...

With a deafening crash, everyone stared in disbelief at the enormous hole smashed through the gate. It marked the fall of Wall Maria...

"Is... is humanity going to go extinct...?"

A man nearby spoke blankly, his face awash with despair.

Fear stirred the passengers into a commotion, but before long, they fell silent again. Despair hung over the boat.

Eren could not believe it either.

Bai Yu, however, was not looking at the breached gate of Wall Maria. Instead, he looked toward Shiganshina District's distant wall, confusion in his eyes.

There were... a lot of Titans coming through there. So many that something was wrong...

In that short span of time, nearly a hundred Titans had already squeezed through. Beyond them, he could faintly make out the shifting bodies of yet more Titans waiting outside.

"That shouldn't be..."

Bai Yu murmured, then shook his head. He could not worry about that right now.

Although Bai Yu was now strong enough to kill most of the Titans here, even setting his stamina aside, he did not have nearly enough gas or blades. There were also things he needed to forge-his own custom Omni-Directional Mobility Gear.

Otherwise, if he ended up in an unavoidable battle against a transformed Titan and died because of a problem with his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, he would never rest in peace.

With that thought, Bai Yu sat down in a corner, and Xiate curled up in his arms. Eren, the others, and Armin's grandfather sat nearby without saying a word.

Everyone aboard the boat was trying to calm their fear.

Bai Yu, however, took out the Complete Forging Manual and began reading. Yes, a year ago, he had added forging to his training in the System Training Ground. After all, much of the equipment he needed could only be made by his own hands.

The books the system provided included the Complete Firearms Forging Manual, Forging Basics, and others.

They were useful to Bai Yu-extremely useful. As the saying went, if you wanted to be well fed and clothed, you had to do the work yourself.

Originally, the boat had only been meant to stop once it reached the territory inside Wall Maria. Now, however, it seemed they would follow the river straight into Wall Rose.

Bai Yu knew that as more and more people entered Wall Rose, food would grow scarce. Later, the higher-ups would propose what was ostensibly a plan to retake Wall Maria, but in reality, it would send huge numbers of people out to their deaths to ease the crisis inside Wall Rose.

He could not help looking at Yishi, Carla, and Armin's grandfather beside him. In the original story, Armin's grandfather had been selected. Now, he did not know what would happen to Yishi and Carla.

As for the children, they would not go so far as to send them out to die.

At that thought, Bai Yu sank into contemplation. In that case, perhaps a little bribery was in order.

Bai Yu opened the system's item inventory before him. Inside was a small pile of gold fragments, a random reward he had received for completing a mission back then. He had never used it, though, since they rarely needed money.

He was not sure whether it would work, but there was nothing else he could do now.

As the boat approached Wall Rose, Bai Yu dismantled his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear into parts and casually tossed them into the river.

The boat was crowded, and its operators had not noticed yet. But if he brought it inside Wall Rose, he would probably face a thorough interrogation, and they might even charge him with stealing Omni-Directional Mobility Gear.

Watching him throw away the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, Eren, Mikasa, and the others finally began to settle down. Remembering that Bai Yu knew how to use it, Eren looked at him with shining eyes and asked a question.

"Bai Yu, how do you know how to use th-"

Before he could finish, Bai Yu clapped a hand over his mouth and glanced warily around. Fortunately, none of the other passengers had time to pay attention to them.

Bai Yu made a shushing gesture at them, then cleared his throat softly.

"That's a secret. We can't talk about it."

Then he went back to reading beside them, letting Xiate lean against him.

Seeing what Xiate was doing, Mikasa glanced at Eren, then sighed softly, as though she had given up on something.

Eren had wanted to ask more, but Mikasa stopped him and gently shook her head. Only then did he drop the matter, pursing his lips in displeasure.

Bai Yu merely smiled and offered no further answer.

Just then, Eren stood aboard the boat, his eyes fixed on the distance, a fierce gleam flashing through them. Out there lay the fallen Shiganshina District. After a long while, he suddenly spoke with resolve.

"I'm joining the Survey Corps!"

Mikasa and Carla both whipped their heads toward Eren. Fear gradually returned to their eyes as they recalled the people they knew being eaten by Titans during their escape, and Carla shouted.

Mikasa grew anxious too, wanting to stop Eren.

"Why, Eren?! You saw how terrifying those Titans were! Can't you... can't you stop making me worry for once?"

But this time, Eren did not answer. He merely looked up at the sky.

Bai Yu glanced at Eren as well. So he would still join the Survey Corps after all.

Xiate looked at Eren standing aboard the boat, then turned to Bai Yu and asked quietly.

"Bai Yu, you're not thinking of joining the Survey Corps like Eren, are you?"

Her words made Eren turn toward Bai Yu, and even Yishi could not help looking over.

Bai Yu closed the book in his hands. With his eyes shut and a smile on his lips, he answered teasingly.

"I value my life far too much for that. I'll become a soldier too, but I'll join the Garrison Regiment. You can leave guarding Wall Rose to me."