Arno Reiss took out a vial of serum from his chest, and Nacke, who had been hiding behind the coup Military Police, suddenly jumped out excitedly.
"Arno! Use the royal blood to reclaim the power of the Founder Ymir! With that power, we can restore the glory of the Eldian Empire! Hurry! Drink it!"
Nacke's excited voice made Arno frown. He coldly shouted, "Shut up! You're too noisy!"
The chilling aura around Arno frightened Nacke into immediately closing his mouth. The others of the Imperial Faction were also puzzled. Hermann glanced at the serum in Arno's hand but said nothing.
Holding the serum, Arno walked up to Historia and said softly,
"I actually don't understand, Historia. According to our Imperial Faction's view, once someone with the Reiss royal blood obtains the power of the Founder Ymir, they can dominate this world. But why? Why are you unwilling to pursue this power?
You already possess Titan power. As long as you eat this Eren, you can become the true queen, not just a mascot sitting on the throne like you are now. Aren't you unwilling? Our experiences are very similar—we're both offspring left behind when that bastard Rod was in heat. Don't you want to wash away the humiliation you suffered since childhood?"
Arno's eyes suddenly turned red as he ground his teeth and said,
"I joined the Training Corps. I became the top graduate. I trained desperately, all for the day I could join the Military Police, so I could get closer to that bastard Rod—and then kill him with my own hands! Not for anyone else, just for myself! It's just a pity that bastard died first during Commander-in-Chief Zackly's coup. And the other Reiss… they're all dead too, right? I still remember that day—I drank a lot. What I regretted most was that I wasn't the one who killed Rod!"
Tears shimmered in Historia's eyes—not only because of the wound on her wrist, but also because she was moved by Arno's experience. Historia's childhood had also been dark.
Even Yago had been shocked after learning about Historia's past—how someone who went through such darkness could still grow into such a kind little angel.
"I've seen the unhappy expression on your face when you stood on that platform. Because we share the same blood, I'm giving you a choice now." Arno grabbed Historia's arm and helped her up. Under everyone's astonished gaze, he led her in front of Eren.
"Eat him. Take back the power of the Founder Ymir. I won't make any demands of you. After gaining this power—enough to dominate the world—you can do whatever you want. Become the true king, or destroy the world—it's all up to you. Historia! I'm not like anyone else! You can choose freely!" Arno stared at Historia with blazing eyes.
Hearing Arno's words, Nacke was stunned. He shouted anxiously,
"No! You can't do this! Arno! This isn't what we planned! We need the Founder! We have to rebuild the Eldian Empire!!"
Arno glanced at Nacke, then sneered at Historia.
"See? No one in this world treats you well without reason. What the Imperial Faction values is just the royal blood in my veins and the power in my hands. But I'm different—I have no demands of you. Now, you just need to make your own choice."
"Hermann! What are you doing? Do something! Our plan can't end like this!!" Nacke was on the verge of collapse. He had never imagined that with the Founder's power right in front of them, Arno would go insane and hand it over to the so-called mascot queen.
Hermann hesitated upon hearing Nacke's shout. What could he do now? According to the original plan, Arno should have already obtained the Founder's power, and the Eldian Empire would be reborn. But now Arno was telling Historia to choose—what kind of nonsense was this?
Hermann wanted to stop it, but didn't know how. Kill Historia? But wouldn't that go against Arno's will? Even if Arno gained the Founder afterward, would he spare Hermann and the others?
But if Historia accepted and ate Eren, gaining the Founder's power, then wouldn't everything the Imperial Faction had done become nothing but a bubble?
Caught in hesitation, Hermann froze in place.
...
Soon, the train from Tepar Station finally arrived, bringing a large number of soldiers and the Titan warriors Randy had been waiting for.
"We can't wait any longer. Every second wasted could make the situation in the capital worse. Airi, Annie—coordinate with me! We'll break open the gate!" Yago said in a deep voice as he looked at the towering walls of the capital.
Airi and Annie immediately agreed.
Yago then signaled for Commander Randy to prepare. As for breaking through the gate, it was no problem for him at all. Back then, Bertholdt had been able to smash open the gate easily with the power of the Armored Titan. For Yago, who possessed multiple Titan powers, crashing through a gate was nothing.
But just as Yago was about to transform and break the gate, something happened on the capital's walls. Gunfire and screams erupted.
Ssshhh! Ssshhh! With the sound of countless Vertical Maneuvering Equipment gas bursts, a large number of Garrison soldiers wearing uniforms marked with the Rose insignia suddenly surged up onto the walls from the rear of the capital, catching the coup Military Police off guard and immediately engaging them in battle.
Randy was the first to notice the chaos on the walls. Realizing something instantly, he shouted to the troops behind him, "All soldiers! Assault the walls! Take down all the rebels!"
"Yes!" xN A thunderous response erupted from the ranks. Countless soldiers immediately activated their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, flying into the air and rapidly approaching the walls. From a distance, countless black dots surged toward the top of the walls.
Just as Randy had expected, the coup Military Police, caught in chaotic combat, had no chance to stop Randy's forces from scaling the walls. The defensive cannons fired only symbolically a couple of times before going silent.
"Quick! Quick! Open the gates first!" Lance Uriel, supported on both sides by two Garrison soldiers, endured waves of pain as he commanded his subordinates to attack the gate.
At the gate, there was only a small squad of coup Military Police soldiers. Facing hundreds of elite Garrison troops under Lance, they decisively chose to surrender.
Soon, the tightly shut gates of the capital slowly opened. Randy's eyes lit up as he immediately commanded the troops without Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to enter the capital.
Watching everything unfold, Yago was a bit stunned. What—this easy? He hadn't even made a move yet. Were they not even going to give the Titan warriors a chance to show off?
"Yago, stop spacing out! Follow me to the royal palace! The Imperial Faction's coup will definitely target Historia!" Levi shouted loudly as he rode past Yago on horseback.
"The royal palace?" Yago looked into the distance, suddenly realizing something was off.