In the end, out of the hundred-plus trainee squad, only a dozen or so joined the Survey Corps. It was fewer than in previous years, but this was also expected. After all, Erwin's calculation of the casualty rate had indeed scared away many soldiers who had come with a determination to sacrifice and dedicate themselves.
Erwin's gaze swept over the faces of those who remained, as if trying to find something, but he found nothing. He simply said, "I respect you from the bottom of my heart."
The group responded with a salute.
The three corps had all finished recruiting, so they naturally returned to their respective bases. However, the Military Police and the Garrison Regiment would leave after spending the night, while the Survey Corps had to return to headquarters that very night. So, the trainees also quickly packed their things and waited in the square.
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Hey, Connie, weren't you going to the Military Police to bring glory to your ancestors?"
"You've got some nerve saying that to me! Didn't you stay behind too?!"
"I just..." Jean glanced at Mikasa standing not far away, his expression dim. "Forget it. You're too dense to understand."
"Huh?"
"Alright, alright," the good-natured Marco smoothed things over. "We're all going to be together from now on, so let's not argue."
"Speaking of which, Marco, weren't you going to dedicate your body to the king? How come you joined the Survey Corps too?"
Marco scratched his head upon hearing this. "I just suddenly felt that the king probably doesn't need one more person like me. But, those civilians really need the protection of soldiers."
"...Tch, you really are a good person."
As the few of them were talking, Jean saw Ymir and Krista standing together to the side and asked, "Did the trio become a duo?"
"..."
Krista's expression turned slightly unpleasant upon hearing this, but she still forced a smile. "Actually, it doesn't matter, I..."
"Tch, didn't expect that Rayan guy to be such a coward," Connie said, clicking his tongue. "Guess being strong doesn't mean..."
"That's not true!"
Krista suddenly shouted loudly, startling everyone.
Everyone watched as she clenched her fists, her lake-blue eyes glaring angrily at Connie, who was taken aback. "Rayan is not a coward!"
After saying that, her eyes welled up with tears, and she turned and ran off into the distance.
"Watch your mouth, you bastard," Ymir said coldly, glancing at Connie, then immediately chased after Krista.
As for Connie, he was left standing there, completely clueless about what had happened. "Hey, I was just making a casual joke..."
Reiner patted his shoulder. "Connie, that's the first time I've ever seen Krista get angry. You're amazing."
"..."
"Don't run anymore."
Ymir caught up to Krista, grabbed her arm, and pulled her close. "Don't run anymore."
"Ymir," Krista said, her voice choked as she was pulled back, raising a hand to wipe her eyes, her thin lips pressed tightly together, angry and sad. "I don't want them to say that about Rayan!"
"I know."
"Rayan isn't a coward! If he were, how could he have used his own arm during the snow mountain training to, to..."
Ymir looked at the girl with red eyes and sighed softly, pulling her into a hug. "I agree. That shorty is weird all over, but you can't call him a coward."
Krista didn't speak, her eyes lowered. Ymir gently persuaded her, "Alright, don't be sad. There must be a reason why that shorty didn't join the Survey Corps. We can just ask him when we see him again."
At this moment, Sasha also ran over, looked at the two of them, and said cautiously, "Um, Krista, Ymir, Commander Erwin has told us to set off."
"Got it, let's go. We'll just have to ask him next time we meet."
"...Yeah."
The two followed Sasha back to the center of the square. Connie immediately apologized to Krista. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that about your friend!"
"I was too serious, I'm sorry too..."
In the shadowy corner at the edge of the square, Rayan silently watched all of this, watched Krista's argument with Connie, watched her run off in anger, and watched everyone leave with Erwin. He silently pondered something in his heart, whispered a blessing, and then turned and stepped into the long darkness, his body completely enveloped by the shadows.
---
The Next Day
"Say, only one of the top ten trainees from this year joined the Military Police! The rest all went to the Survey Corps!"
"Yeah, I don't know what those guys are thinking, so eager to die?"
"A bunch of fools."
Two Military Police officers rode their horses, talking, then turned their gaze to the person behind them. "Kid, you're really lucky, I heard the king is going to personally receive you?"
"Yes," Rayan said.
At this moment, the Military Police were heading towards Wall Sina. Without a doubt, as the final wall, Sina was the undisputed inland. Most of the powerful and wealthy nobles lived here. They didn't worry about titans; instead, they worried about the poor from Wall Rose coming to Wall Sina and consuming their food—even though their granaries were already countless.
"That's really good, looks like you'll be rising through the ranks quickly, kid," one Military Policeman said, looking at Rayan with envy. "I'll show you around properly later, there are a lot of fun places in Sina."
"Hey, you bastard, are you sucking up to him because you see he'll be your superior in the future?" another Military Policeman said bluntly, looking at Rayan. "Don't go out with him, that bastard is dirt poor. He only goes to the cheapest places, it's dirty and messy, and not even fun."
"Damn Keith, what nonsense are you spouting!"
"What? Am I wrong?"
The two began to bicker, their words like swords. Rayan only listened silently, then suddenly tilted his head slightly, his gaze passing over the crowd and landing on a horse not far away.
Annie was riding on it, following the main group with a cold expression.
Just as the Military Policeman had said, only one of the top ten trainees from this year had joined the Military Police, and that was Annie. It was indeed quite rare, because in previous years, basically all of the top ten would join the Military Police, and anyone who occasionally joined the Survey Corps would be considered a weirdo and a laughingstock.
However, this year it was completely reversed, which really made everyone in the Military Police feel puzzled.
Of course, they didn't care; in fact, they were even happier. After all, the fewer newcomers there were, the fewer people there would be to compete with them for benefits. Of course, the recruits wouldn't be able to get any benefits anyway; they would basically just be bullied, driven around, and made to do all the work.
It was like some units within the system: no matter how strong your abilities were, in your first year, you would just be serving tea, pouring water, and cleaning. People went by seniority; the longer you stayed, the more weight your words carried. If you didn't accept it, they wouldn't do anything to you, they would just politely ask you to leave the system.
And you would be filled with anger with nowhere to vent, only making your liver hurt with rage, greatly lamenting the unfairness, and possibly wasting your talent and time in anger. But as for them, they would have long forgotten you, busy training the next batch of newcomers.
Soon, the group arrived at the Stohess District of Wall Sina. Even though Rayan had already been there once before, he still couldn't help but take a few more glances at the exquisite and towering buildings within the wall.
Moreover, compared to the inside of Wall Rose, the clothing of the passersby on the streets of Sina was completely different—you could say one was still in the agricultural era, while the other was already in the pre-industrial civilization era.
Many people here wore well-fitting Western-style clothing, top hats, and carried canes, looking like gentlemen. There were also Military Police patrolling the streets, each one swaggering, and the passersby avoided them, obviously afraid of being targeted and framed.
"We're here."
Finally, they arrived at the Military Police headquarters. Everyone dismounted and entered, and the recruits were assigned dormitories one by one.
This was the Stohess District, and like Trost District, it was also a "walled city."
Each wall was divided into an outer wall and an inner wall, and the outer wall could be simply understood as the four walled cities in the east, west, north, and south. The Stohess District where Rayan was currently located was the eastern walled city of Wall Sina.
That's right, even though they were all Military Police, they were still different from each other.
Some Military Police were assigned to other walls, such as Wall Rose and Wall Maria; some were assigned to the four walled cities of Wall Sina; and some were in the inner city of Wall Sina, at the foot of the royal capital. Undoubtedly, the best jobs were in the inner city, which was full of nobles and ministers, and the benefits were naturally the most abundant, so it was also the place all Military Police wanted to go.
However, good resources were always limited. Most of the Military Police positions in the inner city were monopolized by nobles and high officials, who filled them with their own people. The remaining small portion could be considered "elite," all having risen through the ranks step by step, but they couldn't exactly be called good people. They were just better at fighting than those useless good-for-nothings, but in reality, they also colluded with them.
Since Rayan had joined the Military Police, he definitely had to go to the inner city, but he couldn't rush things for now, he had to take it step by step. After all, his starting point was quite high. The king's audience was a huge "honor," and with that on his record, even his superiors wouldn't dare to easily move against him or make things difficult for him.
At this moment, after the dormitories were assigned, Rayan entered his room and found someone already inside. When that person saw Rayan enter, he immediately stood up. "Hello, I'm Marlowe Freudenberg, nice to meet you!"
"Rayan, hello."
Looking at this mushroom-haired young man, Rayan had some impression of him. He remembered that this guy had a pretty upright personality and a kind of "the ends justify the means" drive. However, he was still too straightforward and not patient enough.
"You're really young," Marlowe said, looking at Rayan's face. "Looks like you're only fifteen or sixteen."
"So-so."
As Rayan spoke, just after putting down his things, a Military Policeman came to the door.
"Sir!" Marlowe immediately stood up straight and saluted, but the Military Policeman didn't bother to acknowledge him, looking at Rayan instead. "Rayan Kafka, right? The commander has arrived and wants to see you."
"Alright."
Rayan followed the Military Policeman out, while Marlowe stood there for a few seconds, completely oblivious to the Military Policeman's disregard for him, instead thinking: This recruit is actually being called over by the commander? How is that possible? Could he also have some noble background?
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Need More Chapters
Every 300 Power Stones
2 Bonus chapter
Every 500 Power Stones
4 Bonus chapter.
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