On April 3rd, it seemed like it would be quite a sunny day.
The first rays of the morning sun wrapped the capital in a thin golden veil.
Gale held a list of supplies, checking the food and ammunition. In front of him were carts pulled by oxen and horses, transporting a total of 80 Gatling machine guns, all completely covered with cloth.
The long procession gathered in the middle of the road, with everyone maintaining order and each team leader ensuring that everything proceeded smoothly.
Gale opened the lid of his pocket watch and glanced at it. It was almost time to leave.
Hannes had personally brought him a horse—a strong and docile purebred.
The column stretched 100 meters long. At the front stood the Survey Corps, with the livestock and horses transporting the goods protected in the middle, followed by the marksmen, the cooks, and the construction team.
Before leaving Wall Rose, there was no need to worry about encountering Titans.
Once there, the team would regroup and set foot on the lands of Wall Maria.
"Let's go," Gale ordered, casting a calm glance at Ymir, who was one of his personal guards.
He had thought about leaving her with Historia, but here the one in greater danger of death was him, not Historia, who was of royal blood.
Hannes nodded, pulled a signal pistol from his waist, and fired a green flare into the sky. With a loud whistle, everyone raised their heads to look at it.
The Wings of Freedom flag waved at the front of the procession, and everyone stepped forward, advancing slowly.
The road was crowded with onlookers.
Yesterday, leaflets and newspapers had been urgently printed and distributed among the residents of Wall Sina.
As an expert marksman, Artur spotted familiar faces in the crowd: his family, his wife, and his children, who pushed through the crowd and waved at him enthusiastically.
His wife lifted their youngest daughter, Sasha, who shouted, "Dad, let's go! Let's take back our land!"
Artur smiled knowingly and waved back from a distance. The crowd cheered for them and shouted words of encouragement.
Historia stood on the balcony of a stone house, the rubies embedded in her crown shining brightly. She wore a white velvet shawl, her hair carefully styled, and watched with nobility, like a princess seeing warriors off to war.
Gale mounted his horse and looked at her. Without a doubt, clothes make the person. After changing her attire, Historia radiated the aura of a princess.
Compared to the girl who clung to his clothes the night before, acting shy and saying she had recently been learning to bake, she was a completely different person.
Gale thought to himself, "I hope the homemade cookies in a month don't taste too bad."
Pixis stood behind Historia, dressed in a respectable military uniform. He was not on the expedition team list, so someone had to remain in the capital to take charge.
As the group approached, Pixis raised his right hand, and the people crouched on the rooftop opened a cage, releasing hundreds of white doves that flapped their wings.
Erwin and Pixis exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Operation to reclaim Wall Maria! Begin now!"
The soldiers of the Survey Corps following them let out an inspiring shout, as if a torch had touched boiling oil, igniting everyone's emotions. Each of them raised their right arm and placed it over their chest.
"We dedicate our hearts to humanity!"
Under the golden light of dawn, the procession descended the mountain and left the capital.
Seven days later, they arrived at the district of Ehrmich for their first rest and resupply before entering the land of Wall Rose through the district gate.
After another five days of marching, frequently stopping and taking the shortest straight route, they reached the Trost District.
Beyond that lay the land of Wall Maria.
The expedition would rest for a day in the Trost region to resupply and adjust their plans before crossing the special district of Trost on the morning of April 15th to face the giants.
The Titans were right ahead. Before, thinking about this always made Levi very irritable, and he would usually have a drink before setting out. But tonight was different.
He sat alone in front of the fire, holding a bottle of wine, staring at the flickering flames, and silently poured the wine from the bottle onto the ground.
Bones would eventually turn to dust.
The casualty rate when carrying out reconnaissance missions outside the walls was extremely high; 70 percent of new recruits died on their first mission, and very few managed to recover their bodies.
A fortunate soldier might leave behind an arm or half a leg as proof of their existence, while an unfortunate one would simply be abandoned in a desolate wasteland.
They were swallowed by Titans and would eventually be spat out.
Titans are creatures that lack digestive and reproductive organs. These monsters never attack any living beings other than humans. While they can eat living people, they vomit the corpses after some time.
To turn into dust in unknown lands, perhaps becoming fertilizer for trees and weeds, or being devoured by birds and beasts—that is the fate of those consumed by Titans.
To this day, Levi had witnessed the deaths of more than a hundred people.
There were newcomers who had barely exchanged a few words with him, and soldiers he had previously led.
When his comrades died, Levi drank two or three bottles of sake.
He was already used to it; the disappearance of those people was not fatal, unlike how people cannot live without bread.
However, sometimes he remembered that night before departure, when they sat around a table and Levi, as captain, shared his experience with his subordinates. He shouted and recounted with a stern expression the old stories of those dead idiots.
Some people left the group due to their stupidity and recklessness, while others lacked the mental strength to withstand the power of the Titans.
The soldiers listened uneasily to the stories of their predecessors, fearing what lurked in the darkness, and thus forged a bond, arm in arm.
They drank to encourage themselves, and when they got drunk, they laughed loudly. But little by little, Levi realized that someone's laughter had disappeared forever. There are few people in this world who can remember the dead, and Levi was one of them.
He was stronger than the others, and with that strength, he left the dead behind.
No… perhaps the deceased were the ones who left him behind.
A decision he would never regret…
Then he thought of the two people who had been by his side at the beginning.
Isabelle, Fran…
Hearing the soft flow of the wine, he became certain of one thing again: "This world is a pile of shit…"
"Captain Levi, you're here!" Petra found him and said, "Commander Erwin wants to see you. He says he wants to hold a war council meeting."
"I understand. Where are they?" Levi stood up.
"I'll take you there, to the garrison camp outside the gate," Petra said in a low voice.
Levi nodded and followed Petra to a tent.
"This is it, Captain. I'll take my leave now," Petra said with a sweet smile.
"Wait." Levi stopped her, and she quickly turned around.
"Do you need anything, Captain?" Petra asked, her hands behind her back.
Levi paused for a moment and said, "Make sure Eren and the others go to bed early tonight."
"Captain, don't worry," Petra said with a smile, pointing. "I'll keep them in line."
"You too, get some rest early today."
"Mmm." Petra's bright smile blossomed before his eyes.
When she saw Levi walk away, she sighed as she touched her chest and murmured, "Maybe I'm thinking too much… feelings like these shouldn't exist for my captain… For me, it's enough to fight and die by his side."