In the current context, the Central Military Police is a name that denotes elite status. Only the top ten soldiers from the training programs can join the corps.
The only other way to enter is through internal promotion channels.
It is not something that can be climbed through seniority; one must possess exceptional qualities.
Excellence is synonymous with the Military Police.
The number of Military Police personnel has always been the smallest among the three main military branches, reaching a maximum total of only around 2,000 men.
Even the Survey Corps, which has a mortality rate of up to 70%, has a slightly larger number of personnel than the Military Police.
An equal number of Military Police would likely defeat an equal number of Garrison troops and Survey Corps soldiers in a direct confrontation, winning with a significant advantage.
With most of the Survey Corps soldiers detained, 120 Military Police should have been enough to deal with any enemy, except Titans.
But… the situation was completely different from what had been expected…
The captain of this squad had once been a member of the Survey Corps. To leave the dangerous Survey Corps, he had done everything possible to reach the inner wall and become a loyal servant of the nobility.
Because of his familiarity with the Survey Corps, he was assigned command of this operation, with the objective of uncovering evidence of the Survey Corps' rebellion.
He had lived in a remote village, a hunting village, and he knew how hunters tracked their prey.
Unnatural marks, smells, hair, droppings on the ground… Various clues led him to the secret base of the Survey Corps.
What kind of things were those people doing in secret in a place like this?
He didn't care; he just wanted to finish the mission quickly, return home, and capture three or four witnesses.
Killing the rest didn't matter.
That was what he thought at first, but… why had it turned out like this?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Don't panic! We outnumber them! Use your vertical maneuvering gear for close combat and encirclement!" the captain ordered the Military Police.
In the forest, firearms and bows are difficult to use, especially at night when visibility is poor. Their original plan was to launch a surprise night attack and cleanly eliminate the enemy with blades.
But… the only ones lying around were Military Police.
What was that strange weapon? A musket?
Why was its design so unusual? Why didn't it need to be reloaded? Why could it fire in rapid succession? Why could it shoot from such a distance?
He used his vertical maneuvering gear to latch onto a tree branch, intending to kill someone and raise morale.
When he faced those new weapons, he finally understood why his soldiers were falling one by one and why, despite having top scores with their maneuvering gear, they still couldn't break through the forest.
What burst forth ahead of him was an unrelenting rain of bullets, a merciless downpour falling like a storm, sparks flying through the night like shooting stars.
Bang!
With a snap, he fell to the ground like the others, shot in the chest, forearm, and foot. He lay among the brush, staring silently at the treetops, a thin line of blood running from the corner of his mouth.
"Why didn't I bring a raincoat when I left…?"
His vision blurred, and he stopped breathing.
…
The gunfire was like a storm; just pulling the trigger at a person was enough to make them collapse to the ground.
Hange suddenly understood why Petra and Eld had such strange expressions when they returned that day—and why her own expression had now become just as strange as theirs.
Is this… really a battle?
It was as if they were fighting against unarmed men.
The 120 Military Police, who were practically defenseless against such firepower, were defeated by the Survey Corps soldiers, who were fewer than half their number at the moment they confronted the invaders.
"The devil's weapon…" Hange looked at the assault rifle in her hand; her face reflected fear, and her hand trembled slightly.
If we had this, we could easily annihilate humanity.
The battle ended in less than ten minutes.
The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood, and the ground was littered with corpses.
The Military Police, who had intended to win through a surprise night attack, lost without killing a single person; their blades didn't even manage to inflict a single cut on the Survey Corps soldiers.
Times have changed. Knives, bows, and old firearms are relics of the past. The era of cold weapons has ended, and the era of firearms has begun.
To overthrow the current government, it could be said that they now had the power to do so. Humans were not as durable as Titans.
Hange and the others cleared the battlefield. Of the 120 Military Police, only about a tenth survived. The bullets had not struck their vital organs, but they had incapacitated them.
All of them were terrified; the pain and the smell of blood stripped them of their dignity.
Although Hange had killed many Titans, this was the first time she had seen so many corpses of her own kind.
She returned to the camp with a strange feeling. Even though she wasn't covered in blood, her hands seemed stained with it.
"Was it really the right choice to create this kind of weapon?" Hange collapsed into a chair, looking somewhat dejected.
Wherever there are people, there will be conflict; violence has never disappeared from the human world since ancient times.
But as she looked at the assault rifle on the table, she still felt fear. The mere thought of the battlefield where blood flowed like a river turned into terror, as if she had become a sinner against humanity.
At that moment, Gale approached her, followed by the blonde illegitimate daughter of the Reiss family.
"Captain Hange, have the enemies outside been neutralized?" Gale asked calmly.
"Ah… the enemy has been annihilated…" Hange straightened up and forced a smile. "They were killed without having a chance to defend themselves. Don't worry, go get some rest. We'll march toward the capital soon."
"Captain Hange, you don't look well."
"It's nothing… it's just…"
"You just think weapons are frightening?"
"A little…"
"Captain Hange, the weapon itself is not frightening; what's frightening is who holds it," Gale said with a cold smile, then added, "If thieves had the weapon, it would undoubtedly be something bad—but it's in our hands."
"The weapons we've created will save many lives. We are the good ones." Gale gently stroked the stock of the AK.
"After overthrowing the government, we will drive the Titans out of the walls. We will build bridges and railways."
"We will bring criminals to justice. We will build new schools and hospitals. When people see us with weapons, they won't be afraid. They will only feel proud of us, because our weapons are meant to protect them."
"Weapons aren't frightening…" Hange murmured, repeating the phrase. "You… you can be truly unpredictable sometimes…"
"Instead, let's begin drafting a plan to take the capital," Gale said, pulling out a map of the capital's buildings. "Historia has already given me her answer. She will speak as a representative of the royal family."
"We must make Commander Pixis understand that Historia is a candidate to inherit the Founding Titan—and that she is a true member of the royal family!"