Chapter 48: I Armored, He Colossal, He Kicks, I Smash

In the end, the President did not issue the command to kill Haruto. The negotiation concluded with Haruto holding absolute authority.

The subsequent plan would be formulated by him, and the military corps would cooperate to execute it.

After explaining his plan, Haruto walked out of the stifling room.

No one stopped him.

The sound of the door closing echoed. Silence filled the room for a long time.

Finally, Levi broke the silence,

"What do we do?" Levi looked at Erwin.

Erwin shook his head.

"We follow his plan. It's the only choice for humanity, aside from destruction."

At this moment, on Paradis Island, technology was locked down by the royal government. They had no intelligent Titans of their own.

There were no bargaining chips.

As Haruto said, two intelligent Titans could easily wipe out the world inside the walls.

If the corps had new ODM gear, Thunder Spears, and controlled Eren's Attack Titan, Erwin might have considered other options.

But there were no "ifs."

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The condemnation from his conscience had already driven Reiner insane. Since they had found the Founding Titan, they had to recover it immediately.

They arrived with four Titan Shifters, and they would return with four; at least they could give an account of their mission.

As for Annie, she knew the time for containment had come.

Her fingers instinctively reached into a small pocket sewn into her sleeve. Inside was a delicate little medicine bottle.

Amidst the murmured complaints of the many cadets, the group was led toward their target location.

It was a desolate area outside the city.

There were hardly any houses around.

Yet, for some reason, dozens of tall logs stood erect in the ground, spaced apart at intervals.

"Today's task is to transport these logs into the city."

Keith gave the order and then began assigning groups.

Eren looked at the logs in the distance, puzzled.

"Armin, look at those logs over there. Why are they placed vertically and driven into the ground?"

Armin also looked at the standing logs with confusion.

But soon, a thought surfaced in his mind.

"Placing the logs like this should make it easier to use the ODM gear. This area is too open."

"Without these logs, the ODM gear would be almost useless. But why?"

Armin was puzzled; why prepare an area suitable for ODM gear use here?

He spoke in a low voice, so only Eren, Mikasa, and—

Well, also Haruto.

With his keen hearing, Haruto overheard Armin's speculation and couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration.

As expected, early-stage Armin was a top-tier strategist.

Such sharp insight.

Unfortunately, in the later parts of the story, after Armin ate the Colossal Titan and inherited Bertholdt's memories—

Well, it's hard to explain.

These logs were prepared by Erwin. If Haruto failed in the containment mission, the hidden members of the Survey Corps would rush in.

Erwin would never pin all his hopes on Haruto alone.

So, this place had to be suitable for ODM gear use.

The cadets were scattered in small groups to move the logs, preventing excessive casualties. Once the groups were assigned, they began carrying out their task.

Ymir and Historia were paired together. As they were about to start, Historia noticed Haruto approaching quietly.

"Haru, what's wrong?" Historia asked curiously.

But Haruto made a silencing gesture.

Although puzzled, Historia lowered her voice and stopped speaking.

Ymir was also confused, but then she saw Haruto motioning for her to come closer.

When she did, he spoke in a low, serious tone,

"Ymir, take Historia and get far away from here. The Corps won't stop you, but try to stay hidden. If possible, take Eren Yeager with you too."

Hearing this, both Ymir and Historia furrowed their brows.

"What do you mean? Is something—"

Sensing something was off, Ymir wanted to ask more.

But Haruto simply shook his head, urging them to move.

Though they hadn't known each other long, the three of them trusted one another. After all, Haruto had already uncovered all their secrets. With everything laid bare, trust naturally followed.

So, once Haruto left, Ymir took Historia and slipped away unnoticed.

Haruto, meanwhile, followed the plan and went to the designated location to put on his act. Telling Ymir and Historia wasn't favoritism.

Ymir had the power of the Jaw Titan, but she was actually quite weak, lacking the sharp claws and fangs typical of the Jaw Titan.

If a fight broke out and Ymir got caught in it and died, her Titan power would be randomly transferred to a newborn Eldian.

That would be a disaster.

Meanwhile, the three warriors from Marley gathered together.

"Reiner, are we doing this? Right here, right now?"

Bertholdt asked excitedly.

Just the thought of making a move had him thrilled.

Ever since Reiner started losing it, Bertholdt's stress levels had skyrocketed—he hadn't had a single dry forehead in days.

He was genuinely afraid that one morning, Reiner would snap completely and ruin everything. So if they could act now and escape back to Marley, that was the best outcome for Bertholdt.

Reiner nodded.

"It's been too long. No matter which Titan Haruto is, we capture him, and we go home."

Annie listened expressionlessly.

"Annie, you lure Haruto over—"

Reiner suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

After a brief pause, he continued,

"We'll talk to him, tell him who we are. Since he wants to save humanity, maybe he'll be willing to come with us."