"The third squad will seal off all entrances and exits of the royal capital. No one is allowed to enter or leave."
"The fourth squad will cooperate with Hermann to take control of the Garrison's base. The Garrison has the largest numbers—you must secure them!"
Oh, right, one more thing—Hermann is Lance Uriel's deputy, the vice squad leader of the royal capital Garrison.
"The second squad will completely blockade the parliament building. Don't let a single council member escape! The first squad will secure all districts of the royal capital!" Arno Zott gave his orders coldly. The dozens of Military Police officers and Garrison officers in front of him immediately acknowledged and left upon receiving the commands.
Nacke shrank into a corner, constantly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. This coup by the Imperial Faction could be said to be an all-in gamble. For this day, Arno Zott had been planning for years, using various means to win over officers at all levels within the Military Police and the Garrison.
Back then, the coup led by Pixis to overthrow the false king had purged a large number of royal capital nobles. Of course, calling it a purge didn't mean they were all killed—the new Paradis parliament mostly confiscated their assets and stripped them of their noble status, turning them into commoners and driving them out.
Having fallen from power overnight, these once high and mighty nobles were naturally filled with resentment. That, however, was the result of how rushed and incomplete the coup had been back then.
Although the nobles lost their wealth and status, their influence couldn't be underestimated. A large number of their family members still served within the military. During the purge of the false king's noble forces, in consideration of maintaining military stability, the parliament adopted a lenient policy toward these noble officers. As a result, many of them still retained military authority.
Of course, the Paradis parliament wasn't foolish. Over the years, they had been steadily trying to weaken the power of these noble officers. This only made the already dissatisfied nobles even more furious. Taking advantage of the situation, Arno Zott recruited them, promising to restore their power and status after rebuilding the Eldian Empire. Naturally, the two sides hit it off immediately.
Over the years, Arno Zott had gradually and discreetly transferred all Imperial Faction loyal troops into the royal capital—everything was for today.
After Arno Zott finished assigning the basic tasks, Nacke wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked over to him.
"Will this really work?"
Arno Zott took a deep breath.
"This is our last chance."
"What about those Titan shifters? Just that one Colossal Titan alone could wipe out our forces in an instant—not to mention Yago Norman and the others," Nacke said anxiously.
Arno Zott smiled.
"Relax, I've already made preparations. Right now, all the Military Police inside the royal capital are our own forces, and half of the Garrison is on our side as well. The Survey Corps base has fewer than a single squad stationed there—we can take it quickly. As for the other Titan shifters, they should all be visiting Orvud District right now."
Seeing Arno Zott so confident, Nacke felt somewhat relieved. But he still had concerns. Even if they overthrew the parliament with just a few hundred Military Police and Garrison troops, would the forces outside the royal capital support the new Eldian Empire?
Arno Zott remained confident about this as well.
"The King's power and authority are enough to make all subjects submit!"
Clap, clap, clap! A brief round of applause suddenly sounded from inside the teahouse. Arno Zott turned his head and saw Yelena walking toward him. He wasn't surprised at all, as if he had expected it.
"Don't worry, Miss Yelena. I'll assign soldiers from the first squad to assist you. The person you want to rescue should be at the Survey Corps base."
Yelena smiled and bowed.
"Of course, Mr. Arno Zott. Thank you for your help. I also hope your plan succeeds."
Arno Zott didn't respond, and Yelena didn't say anything further. She simply smiled and left with her Marleyan Volunteer Army.
Watching Yelena's back, Nacke asked worriedly,
"Is it really okay to cooperate with them? After all, they're not Eldians."
Arno Zott replied,
"It doesn't matter. Whatever their purpose is, as long as it doesn't interfere with our coup, we can ignore it."
Crash! Bang! Just as Arno Zott was still making detailed arrangements, a loud shattering noise suddenly came from the teahouse behind him. He frowned and turned around—one of the crystal chandeliers had fallen from the ceiling.
"Has the teahouse been fully checked?"
Nacke replied,
"It's all been inspected. The rest are just ordinary civilians—we've already brought them under control."
Arno Zott nodded.
...
At that moment, above one of the private booths inside the teahouse, a young man and woman in plain clothes were lying flat on top of the compartment. Since these booths were built indoors like large boxes placed within the room, there was a narrow gap between the booth ceiling and the teahouse ceiling. The Military Police likely never expected someone to be hiding in such a gap during their inspection.
Alex covered Luise's mouth, his own body trembling uncontrollably. What had they just heard? A coup??
Luise, beside him, was equally terrified. She had only come to have tea with Alex—she never expected to overhear news of the Military Police planning a coup!
If Alex hadn't reacted quickly and pulled her up onto the booth roof when the Military Police entered, they would have already been captured by now.
The two of them didn't dare make a single sound. Only after confirming that there was no movement outside the teahouse did Alex dare to speak in a low voice.
"Alex! What do we do? The Military Police are staging a coup!" Luise asked anxiously.
Alex was just as panicked.
"I don't know what to do either. That guy said all the Military Police in the capital are theirs—even half of the Garrison is on their side. The city's already sealed off. Who can we even turn to?"
Luise said,
"Instructor Keith! He'll definitely have a solution!"
Alex's eyes lit up.
"Right! The instructor will definitely be able to find help. Let's go—we'll leave through the back door!"
Some time ago, during the ceremony to award honors to Yago and the soldiers returning from the Marleyan capital, representatives from all sectors had been invited—including training corps units from various regions. The Trost District training corps, led by Instructor Keith Shadis, had brought along the top ten trainees of Alex's class to visit the royal capital.
Perhaps due to underestimating the training corps, they were still using the old training methods—focused on killing Titans. Military reforms hadn't reached them yet, and they barely even had any firearms. Because of this, Arno Zott hadn't dispatched any forces to control the training corps' base in the royal capital.
Alex grabbed Luise's hand and ran back toward the training corps base like his life depended on it. By the time he arrived, his lungs felt like they were about to burst.
"Cough—cough! Cough! Quick! Hurry! Cough—cough! Take me—cough—to see—see Instructor Keith! Cough, cough!"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo