—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Just in case, destroy all of the data and kill yourselves!”
“Database format initiated! Everything will be gone in three minutes!”
“Don’t get caught. Do it right if you don’t want to be lynched to death in front of the citizens!”
The Armaments Bureau was in complete disarray.
A rebellion?
Led by Luthers Edan, no less?
At first, they had remained mere spectators, assuming the President’s forces, including the Capital Defense Command, would crush the rebellion.
But as the situation rapidly deteriorated, they were left with no choice.
Destroy all problematic data or hide it well.
Especially anything related to Titan cultivation.
Everyone in the Armaments Bureau knew how much Luthers Edan, the war hero, loathed Titans.
After all, they were the ones who had caused massive losses on the front lines, rambling about controlling and taming Titans.
Of course, they had succeeded in controlling Titans in their own way, but only because of the President’s backing.
If the President fell and the military took over the Empire, Luthers would undoubtedly make them pay.
The opposite scenario wasn’t even worth considering.
Besides, even without the data, the know-how remained deeply embedded in their minds.
The Titan culture cells were already being stored under the guise of “combat stem cells.”
They could always restart the project after destroying the data.
President Mikhail Bismarck would surely approve of their decision.
Ultimately, they were just following the manual he had prepared.
“By the way, where the hell is Hameln? He went into the culture chamber ages ago.”
“I don’t know, sir. Should I contact security?”
The chief engineer, in charge of all “biotechnology” projects at the Armaments Bureau, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Forget it. We’ll have to check if he’s dead anyway.”
“Hurry, sir! It’s chaos outside, chaos!”
At that moment, a long tongue shot out from a ventilation shaft, piercing through the assistant researcher’s head.
The tongue, burrowing from the skull to the base of the jaw, thrashed about, wrapping itself around the researcher’s neck and dragging the lifeless body into the ventilation shaft.
“You too? Slacking off while I’m gone… Milo?”
It all happened in mere seconds.
The chief engineer turned around, only to find that his assistant, who had been talking to him just a moment ago, was gone.
“…?”
An unsettling feeling washed over him.
The silence was too much for such an emergency.
It wouldn’t have been so strange if it had been quiet from the start, but having witnessed dozens of emergency personnel running around just ten minutes ago, the emptiness was all the more eerie.
“What the…”
As the chief engineer mumbled to himself, his blood turning ice-cold, something landed on his head with a soft thud.
Looking up, wondering if there was a leak, he saw—
“Rrrraaagh!!”
“Aaaargh!”
A Titan, crawling on the ceiling, lunged at him, its double jaws wide open.
Crash! Thud! Squish! Crunch!
The engineer’s movements abruptly ceased as his head was crushed in the Titan’s maw.
It took a mere five minutes for all 73 members of the Armaments Bureau’s emergency personnel, including combat troops, to be completely wiped out.
“The Wolves have successfully seized the broadcasting station. Dawn is about an hour away, and all enemy forces capable of stopping us have been neutralized.”
“Brigadier General Staufen’s 33rd Mechanized Brigade did a fantastic job. Splitting two companies to appear like a battalion… Brilliant. I know it’s dark and all, but still.”
“The Capital Defense Command’s artillery unit has also been neutralized. They’re nothing without their firing coordinates. Just a bunch of immobile armored units.”
Reports of victory poured in from all directions.
The faces of the staff officers, who had been filled with worry at the start of the operation, were now beaming with smiles.
It had only been eight hours.
In just eight hours, they had successfully infiltrated the rebel forces’ core combat units into the capital, Hoenbaren, while small guerrilla units secured the capital’s defense facilities.
Such a rapid offensive, even witnessing it firsthand, was unbelievable.
He truly was a legendary war hero.
Even the lowest-ranking soldiers across the country had come to revere Luthers Edan.
“All preparations are complete.”
“Good.”
Luthers nodded at Chief Director John Hobbes’ words.
He had heard that Supreme Commander Arthur Philias was currently holed up in a bunker beneath the Supreme Command Headquarters.
Since the headquarters wasn’t a “combat unit,” it wasn’t equipped to breach a 30cm thick steel door.
They were likely just banging on the door with pistols and grenades.
While the Capital Defense Command’s attention was focused on the Supreme Command Headquarters, having scraped together every available combat unit, including the 808th Security Battalion guarding the Presidential Palace…
“We strike the bunker beneath the palace.”
Luthers Edan, the commander-in-chief, would personally lead the assault team and take the President’s head.
He had even recalled Karin from the northern node for this purpose.
“Captain Karin Maven reporting. Security platoon of 25, infiltration ready.”
“I entrust the Security Agency to you while I’m gone.”
Luthers, now changed from his dark green dress uniform into combat fatigues, placed a hand on John Hobbes’ shoulder.
He then turned to face the Security Agency staff officers and subordinates who had followed him so far.
Major Edward Roman, Head of Arms Management.
Major Dante Bay, Head of Information Management.
Major Otto Biehn, Head of Training and Education.
And each and every one of the lieutenant colonels and majors whose names and faces he had committed to memory.
“Thank you all for following me so far. It’s only been a year since we met, but as one of the fortress commanders who led the most intense battles in the Empire, I can confidently say that you are some of the best subordinates I’ve ever had.”
“You’re the best commander we’ve ever had, sir!”
“Where else in the world would you find a unit that hands out R&R like candy? Besides being stuck in the middle of nowhere at Forbidden Lake, it’s a job worth dying for!”
“Hahaha!”
Everyone burst into laughter at the young officer’s joke.
“Yes… That’s right. Unfortunately, dying is not an option.”
Luthers smiled faintly.
Even to his own eyes, victory was within reach.
It was now a matter of delivering the final checkmate.
Ultimately, the victor would be the one who captured the opponent’s king first.
“I’ll be back.”
“We’ll be waiting to greet you in the capital at sunrise.”
Luthers turned and walked away, showered in the cheers of his subordinates.
Captain Karin Maven, his security platoon leader and loyal adjutant, followed close behind as always.
Despite his outward calmness, Luthers couldn’t shake off a nagging sense of unease.
Even if they had completely seized control, would the President, the man he knew all too well, simply relinquish his power?
The enemy’s resistance had been surprisingly weak, even considering everything.
Of course…
His fiancées, having regained their memories, were undoubtedly providing him with crucial assistance.
The fact that the defending commanders were inexplicably passive, and that strategic enemy locations had already been sabotaged, pointed towards their involvement.
Yet, even taking all of that into account, it was just too easy.
“No turning back now.”
He hadn’t entered the capital assuming it would be a walk in the park.
Suspicious or not, he had to press forward.
He had the power to make the impossible possible.
Those who knew the truth would only offer him a sad smile.
While Luthers Edan and the strike team were making their way to the Presidential Palace, the Titans, having devoured every last human in the Armaments Bureau within five minutes, began to unleash their true power.
The queen specimen established a new nest in the bureau’s spacious plaza and began to rapidly multiply, fueled by the nutrients extracted from the consumed humans.
It didn’t take long for the once beautifully landscaped plaza to be overrun by grotesque sky-blue and purple eggs.
It was a scene straight out of an alien invasion movie.
“Is His Excellency here?”
“We’re not sure! We sent men to the Technical Institute as well. He’s bound to turn up somewhere.”
“Where else could he be in such a critical time…”
Just then, a group of soldiers approached the Armaments Bureau, now transformed into a giant Titan nest.
It was the special forces unit led by the Intelligence Commander.
With the rebel forces at their doorstep, they had tried contacting the palace, only to be told that the President had suddenly left in a vehicle.
Assuming the President had headed for either the Armaments Bureau or the Technical Institute, the Intelligence Commander, a lieutenant general, had personally rushed to the bureau on foot.
After all, they needed the President to salvage the situation.
Of course, this too was a political move.
A desperate attempt to prove that he was different from the Capital Defense Command, who were currently scrambling around, unable to control their own units.
“But there’s no response from the Armaments Bureau either.”
“Damn those cowardly bastards… Just push through! What right does the Armaments Bureau have to ignore the Intelligence Command?”
And with that, the Intelligence Command flung open the gates of hell.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[ATTACK ON TITAN TIME BABY!!!!!]
