"Historia! Are you okay?" Ymir rushed straight to Historia's side, looking her over and feeling here and there, afraid she might have suffered even the slightest injury.
Thud! Along with a dull sound of flesh colliding, Yago—who had pushed his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to maximum speed—was carried forward by inertia and directly slammed into Zeke, who had been pressing down on Eren's head, sending him flying.
Mikasa also arrived beside Eren, grabbing and holding him tightly even as he remained firmly bound.
A group of suppression soldiers swarmed in, restraining all members of the Imperial Faction.
Nacke's face was ashen, full of despair. Arno remained expressionless, though the way he looked at Historia carried a hint of softness.
"Zeke! Did it work?" Yelena, not caring about anything else, helped Zeke—who had been knocked away by Yago—up and asked anxiously.
Zeke's eyes were still dazed; he hadn't yet recovered from the Paths. When clarity finally returned, he could only give Yelena a bitter smile.
...
At the same time.
Inside the Survey Corps headquarters, a sneaky little head peeked out from the dungeon entrance. After looking around and confirming no one was nearby, Pieck took the lead and ran straight out.
Porco followed closely behind, but Reiner did not come out with them. Despite Pieck and Porco persuading him for a long time, Reiner—completely sunk into a withdrawn state—refused to respond. Left with no choice, Pieck and Porco escaped first.
Due to the coup, the Survey Corps headquarters was now empty except for the lingering smell of blood. Not a single person could be seen; the stationed soldiers had all been taken elsewhere and imprisoned by the coup-supporting Military Police.
"Pieck! What do we do after escaping? Where even are we?" Porco followed behind her nervously.
Pieck rubbed her stomach and said seriously,
"This should be the capital of Paradis Island. Since a rebellion broke out here, the whole city must be in chaos. We can take advantage of that chaos to... find something to eat! Otherwise we'll definitely starve to death!"
"Ah?"
In less than two days, the hastily launched coup by the Imperial Faction was completely suppressed. It happened so quickly that most of the capital's citizens didn't even realize what had occurred.
This time, the parliament's purge methods became truly brutal. Large numbers of former nobles were implicated and dragged down. Toward these old nobles who refused to give up their ambitions, the council members—who had all been affected by the coup—showed no mercy, dealing lethal blows. It could be said that blood flowed like rivers and heads rolled everywhere.
The military also underwent a major purge under Commander Pixis's forceful suppression. Officers who participated in the coup or leaned toward the Imperial Faction were all arrested once evidence was gathered. Some were executed, others demoted. Nearly half of the Military Police's officers were removed from their positions.
The top brass of the military realized that the old system could no longer adapt to the current world, and thus all agreed to carry out military reforms.
It was preliminarily decided to draw a large number of elites from the three major corps and, together with the core members of the Eldian Revival Army who had come from outside the island, quickly establish a new-style army. However, the three corps of Paradis Island would still be retained, though reduced in scale, serving more as defenders of the island and as symbolic forces.
Not long after the coup ended, the Paradis Island parliament urgently convened a meeting to discuss future matters.
Because Commander-in-Chief Zackly was severely injured, he stepped down from his position as Prime Minister of Paradis Island. His successor was Commander Pixis—something that went without saying. Given the current situation, only Pixis could take over Zackly's position and win public support.
Unfortunately for Pixis, who had long wished to retire—oh no, he should now be called President Pixis.
Inside the meeting room, the noise was like a marketplace. Queen Historia did not attend this meeting concerning the future of Paradis Island. According to her, the coup had frightened her fragile heart, and she needed time to rest and recover.
"Arno Reiss incited the coup—his crimes are unforgivable! He should be executed immediately!"
"I agree!"
"But this person carries royal Reiss blood. Wouldn't it be a pity to kill him?"
"And what about those damned Marleyan Volunteer Army members? I knew they were no good! Sure enough, those scum from the Imperial Faction admitted it—those volunteers were involved in the coup too!"
...
Watching the spitting, red-faced arguing among the council members, Prime Minister Pixis felt his head ache. He wanted nothing more than to pull out a bottle from his pocket and take a few swigs, but after becoming Prime Minister, for the sake of Paradis Island's image, he had been forced to quit drinking. All his treasured bottles had been confiscated.
In truth, the main purpose of the attending members wasn't the trivial arguments just now. No matter how it was handled, the Imperial Faction had already been destroyed.
However, another matter was of great importance. With Pixis becoming Prime Minister, his position as supreme military commander was now vacant. This was the position everyone truly cared about.
Due to the military reforms, the title of supreme commander was changed to Commander-in-Chief of Paradis Island. According to the plan, aside from local garrisons defending the capital and major cities, the Commander-in-Chief would have authority over all other forces, including the navy and the newly established—but still airship-less—air force, as well as the new army to be formed.
Such power was immense—frighteningly so—but also incredibly tempting.
Finally, after a long stretch of meaningless arguments, the election for Commander-in-Chief was brought up. But before any of the interested military leaders could speak—
A cold voice rang clearly in everyone's ears.
"The position of Commander-in-Chief of Paradis Island will be taken by me, Yago Norman. Who agrees, who objects?"
The entire meeting room instantly fell silent—so quiet a pin drop could be heard. Everyone stared in shock at the young figure seated at the very end. Among council members mostly in their thirties and forties, Yago's seventeen-year-old face stood out uniquely.
But his words clearly enraged the military leaders. In front of a group of seasoned veterans, what was this brat saying? He wanted to be Commander-in-Chief? Why not just become king while he was at it?
Just as someone was about to shout in anger, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Yago. A faint crimson glow flickered in his eyes. His ferocious gaze made the military leaders feel as though a savage Titan stood behind him, roaring at them.
"Across the ocean, there are still a hundred thousand soldiers of the Eldian Revival Army—all of them are my subordinates. The entire Marleyan capital, dozens of arms factories and countless other facilities, as well as immeasurable technological resources—my people captured them all.
The new army of Paradis Island will also be trained and reformed by my subordinates. So tell me—besides me, who else is qualified to sit in the Commander-in-Chief's seat? You? Is it you? Or you? I'll say it again—who agrees, who objects?"
Yago pointed one by one at the military leaders without courtesy, making them flush red with anger.
But his words left everyone unable to ignore him. They all realized that although Yago was young, he was the leader of the Eldian Revival Army. Now that the Imperial Faction had been destroyed, only the Revival Faction remained as a major organization on Paradis Island. Which meant...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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