The Empire of Titans Chapter 81 (Checkmate) (Patreon)

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' "The Blessed Eldians!" Zachary said with a hint of disbelief, his voice echoing through the hall all the way to the high ceiling. 

The soldiers that were part of the Reclaiming of Wall Maria Mission had returned yesterday, bringing the good news that the holes were fully sealed. 

They still needed to deal with all the Titans inside Wall Maria territory, and they had already started dealing with them. Those who were the best at using the Hardening Ability would make giant prisons for the Titans, keep them inside, and use them to fix and build. When they weren't needed anymore, Eren would order them to walk back to the prison they would create. However, they still weren't sure how many of them to kill since Eren could bring them all back, but they all decided to worry about that after the buildings, bridges, and streets inside Wall Maria territory were fixed.

Right now, they all were discussing what they had learned from the books left behind by Grisha Yeager. Most of what was written inside was something they already knew, but not quite everything.

"Yes. According to my father, those who are Blessed Eldians, therefore Blessed Titan Shifters, they will be much more powerful than someone who isn't, and unlike them, the Blessed Eldians do not suffer from the Curse of Ymir. It doesn't explain much how one becomes Blessed, whatever is from birth, or when they become Titan Shifters, but one thing that remained consistent was that the Blessed Eldians appeared thrice during every century since Ymir got her Titan power." Eren answered loud enough for everyone to hear. 

When they all learned there was a curse that killed all Titan Shifters within thirteen years without fail, many panicked, thinking those who were Semi-Shifters would suffer the same fate. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

"My King, are you certain that you are a Blessed Eldian?" Frans Seul asked with a hint of concern. After learning that all the Semi Shifters were out of danger of suffering the curse, everyone's attention was quickly directed towards Eren, Ymir, Annie, Zeke, and Marlowe, who were the only true Shifters they had in their army, but mainly on Eren since he was the king.

"Yes, according to my father, the Blessed Shifters are taller and more powerful than the normal ones. My Attack Titan is twenty-seven meters tall; my father's Titan, according to his reports, was only fifteen meters tall, and my nape is always crystalized, something that never happened with my father. Yes, I'm certain. I'm fine." Eren said with a slight annoyance; he didn't know if the man truly cared, but having so many people ask him if he was fine was getting annoying. Hopefully this was the last time he needed to say the same thing all over again.

"What about the Semi Shifters? Do they have no drawbacks?" Nile questioned with a look of intrigue, mainly looking at Eren and Commander Erwin. 

Since Eren was the king, he sat before everyone, with Historia to his right. The commanders sat on lower podiums, and the rest sat on seats spread across the hall.

"Hange Zoe," Eren called her name. The Captain stood up before clearing her throat. 

"Sadly, is not that easy. According to Grisha Yeager, those that become Semi Titan Shifters are weaker than the original form of whatever Titan they become, while they don't suffer from the curse. It says that once thirteen years pass, their Titan Powers get much weaker, and by the time it's been twenty years since becoming shifters, their powers are almost gone." Hange explained, earning many looks of disappointment from the crowd, but Eren wasn't as disappointed as them. This was nothing but a small seat back, nothing else.

Sadly, even the Blessed Shifters weren't precisely without drawbacks, and one of them was Titan Healing. Even if someone was a Blessed Titan Shifter, with time, as they naturally grew older, their abilities got weaker. According to Grisha, by the time a Blessed Shifter is Sixty years old, their Titan Healing is much weaker, to the point that regrowing a single finger can take up to five whole minutes instead of just ten seconds; the same was for their Titans. In general, the older a Shifter was, the weaker their Titans were, to the point that a True Armoured Titan shifter who is near his sixties can be weaker than a Semi Shifter who is much younger.

But everyone else wondered how Grisha had all this information; according to him, Marley forbade anyone in the mainland to use the word 'Blessed Eldian' under the threat of being sent to Paradise to become Pure Titans. Since Marley took over over a century ago, there haven't been Blessed Shifters until Eren and Ymir. 

So, how did Grisha have all this information? As if someone had told him what he needed to know? Sadly, his books did not answer that question.

They still weren't sure if Zeke and Pieck Finger were blessed Sifters, but Annie wasn't since her Titan was the same as all the other Female Titans. According to Annie, she had even seen the previous Female Titan holder, a woman named Maria, in action many times. Her Titan had been the same as Annie's Titan; there wasn't one single difference. 

"This small drawback doesn't change anything. Thirteen years is still a long time, and our Semi Titan Shifter Program will continue without any problems." Eren spoke loudly for everyone to hear, and many cheered. While it was a minor drawback, they could still make a few changes and prepare soldiers to be Semi Shifters in advance, so the Island would never stay without at least five hundred of them ready at all times.

"Your Grace. I have been thinking, what happens with a Semi-Shifter who is injected with the same serum that made him one after twenty years have passed? Will they have their powers back?" The Minister of Economy asked. The eyes of many officers and captains lightened up upon hearing that.

"We don't have that information at the moment. There was nothing in the books, and right now, none of our Semi Shifters have reached the twenty-year limit to have that test. While I would like to believe they would be granted their powers back after being injected a second time, there is also a chance that nothing will happen." They might even die if they try a second time, Eren wanted to say but held his tongue. They still needed to wait nineteen years and a half until they could inject someone a second time to see what would happen.

"What about the people outside? Should we inform them about the Truth of the outside world?" Erwin asked. This caused many to talk with one another, their voices growing the more they talked until one officer stood up. Eren recognized him as the officer who helped them when Rodd Reiss became a giant worthless worm, Captain Carsten.

"Your grace, I think we should keep quiet for now. I mean, many of us still find it difficult to believe everything written in that books, but if everything written there is the truth, then there will be riots everywhere, and people will panic." The man suggested with courtesy, bowing his head respectfully before sitting down. His opinion was followed, with many agreeing.

Historia stood up this time from her seat; the hall fell silent as she looked at everyone gathered in the hall. "If we do that, then we are no different than King Fritz, who closed the gates and made everyone inside the walls forget about the outside world. Why did we even overthrow my father if we kept it secret? I don't want to deceive our people like my family did for a century. We are different than them, and we will tell the truth to everyone." Historia questioned firmly, sounding like a proper Queen. The hall fell silent; those who thought otherwise didn't know what to say, and Eren smiled proudly at Historia.

"I agree with my Queen. People should know the truth. The Truth of the Outside World." ' 

*

*

"Holy shit, this Ship is huge!" Connie shouted in disbelief, his voice echoing throughout the corridor, which had many doors that led to the other rooms along the metallic walls.

"Where is the food? Mikasa told me the food was probably inside the ship. Where IS IT?!" Sasha asked with growing panic as she opened door after door, trying to find the food.

"Sasha, be quiet. What if someone from Marley is still inside the ship?" Jean chided her, closing her mouth with his hand.

"Jean, that's nonsense. We just had a fight outside, rockets and people screaming everywhere; how it's possible for anyone to still be inside the ships?" Floch reasoned as he checked the rooms, holding one of the handguns they had confiscated from the Marley soldiers; it was a handgun that could hold up to ten bullets before needing to reload.

"Jean has a point, what if they are Drunk, and didn't hear anything." Marco added his own wisdom. Floch seemed deep in thought before agreeing with their optimistic friend.

"Marco's right, Sasha we will search for the food later," Ymir said with a wicked smile that only grew when Sasha looked as if she had just lost all hope for the future, her expression shattered. Ymir almost laughed as Sasha tried to open the next door, but the tall girl pushed her away, and opened the door herself.

"See. No one is-" "Die Devil!!" Shoot!!!

"YMIR!!-"

Shoot!

Shoot!!

"Ymir, oh my God, are you Okay!!" Sasha panicked, seeing a gunshot wound on Ymir's throat; the bullet had gone right through her throat. Ymir tried to speak, but her vocal cords had been destroyed, and all she could say were annoying grunts as steam engulfed her healing throat; Sasha was still in a state of panic.

"Calm down, Sasha. Ymir is a Shifter, or did you forget that part?" Jean reminded her with annoyance. This made Sasha stop moving around like a headless chicken and sigh in huge relief as Ymir's throat was fully healed, while Floch was checking the entire room to see if anyone else was hiding.

"Son of a bitch, that was close," Ymir grumbled, still speaking with a bit of difficulty as she walked inside while rubbing her throat. It still hurt like a bitch to get shot at, but not the first time.

They all walked into the... storage room; there was a metal plate in front of the door with the words written on it. The soldier was leaning against a desk with two bullet holes, one in the heart and the other in his head; surprisingly, there was no alcohol anywhere near the soldier.

"I think he was inside the ship when we attacked, but instead of helping, he hid inside the storage room where the weapons were and was waiting for someone to walk in," Floch said with a sneer as he looked around the room. He checked the body before grabbing the handgun, including two strange small metallic fruits!!

"Ymir, Thank You." Sasha expressed her gratitude with a big, crushing hug. Ymri groaned slightly as her arms remained limping down. It would have been much better to receive this hug in private, not in front of others, but she still accepted the hug... for about five seconds.

"Okay, enough. No more hugging. I'm not your teddy bear," Ymir said, annoyed, as she pulled the tomato girl away from her, who looked at her incredulously.

"Why would someone want to hug a bear?" She asked in slight confusion, earning a round of groans from her friends.

"Nevermind, Sasha. You are not smart enough to understand. Like someone else here." Connie boasted with a cocky grin, earning an ear-pulling from Sasha.

"Let's check every single room, and be more careful now," Jean ordered, pulling Sasha and Connie apart. Suddenly, they heard multiple footsteps coming from the deck above them. The footsteps grew louder as five soldiers ran downstairs, reaching the corridor where they all were.

"What the hell happened, brats? Why do you all shoot?" Captain Levi demanded right away. He immediately noticed the blood stain on Ymir's uniform, including the small hole in the neck area of the uniform. Jean quickly explained what happened before pointing at the dead Marley soldiers.

Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance before facing the four soldiers that had come with him, including Petra. "Carry that body outside, bury him with the rest." He ordered sternly; the soldiers quickly did as they were told.

After the one-sided battle with the Marley soldiers, many MP and even Survey Corps soldiers had said the dead soldiers should be thrown into the sea. According to them, their land doesn't deserve filth like them, but Eren had made it clear that he would bury all of them, even the one Annie had thrown into the sea; his body was retrieved and buried in his own graveyard far away from the docks.

"Captain Levi, we found the storage," Jean informed him as Levi walked up to him and looked inside the room full of weapons, including mortars, shells for the cannons inside the ship, guns, and several boxes with strange metallic fruits. The shelves reached all the way to the low ceiling, which was only three meters high. The shelves were filled with ammunition and other supplies.

"Bring everything outside except for the shells for the Cannons; those stay inside," Levi ordered firmly to everyone else as Sasha checked another door carefully before walking inside and shouting.

"I FOUND THE FOOD!!!"

Erwin Smith

"So, Commander Magath, tell me what is your role in Marley Military?" Erwin began with his hands crossed in front of his face, staring at the Commander, who didn't show fear.

Magath remained silent and stared at Commander Erwin as if trying to read his mind; the silence was finally broken when Magath reached out and grabbed the cup of tea. "I'm the Commander of the Warrior Unit, but I'm sure you already know that much from Annie, Zeke, and Pieck." The way he spoke their names, Erwin was a little surprised to hear no malice coming from him.

"Yes, but I want to hear more how the Marley military works."

"I take it, you already have an idea."

"I might, from what I heard, you use Eldian soldiers as bait, you rely heavily on Eldians to clear out the enemy, so much so that you send a group of Eldian soldiers to be slaughtered just to have a chance of a victory, a bold strategy, with a lot of risks, I take it you like to gamble."

"Every war is a gamble," Magath said gravely, remembering things that he would much rather not remember. His eyes glittered for a moment as he took a sip from the tea before placing it on the table.

"Indeed. Wars are like a chess game, and it's up the Commander. Will they treat the soldiers like chess pieces to be used, or like human lives, which one will win?" Erwin questioned, taking his own sip from the tea as Magath looked at him strangely.

"Yes, and I have played this chess game many times. I always like to play second."

"Why is that?" Erwin asked, intrigued.

"Because there's meaning behind every move the enemy makes, even the smallest of move can reveal too much, and sometimes that small first move is enough to become the biggest advantage, and at that point, I play along, slowly place the live bait for them to fall in like a fish in a hook."

"Huh," Erwin said with a ghost of a smile. "I think I understand what you mean, but I'd rather not use live bait when I can avoid it. A Commander who hides while his men give their lives will eventually lose respect. They will get less inclined to follow orders." Erwin's words widened Magath's eyes briefly before his face turned blank.

"I agree with you, but Live bait. That's the best bait one could use in a war, something the enemy could never ignore."

"Yes, and I heard you like to use live baits often, but... I don't think you do it out of hatred for Eldians, if that were the case you wouldn't have looked away when Annie Leonhart grabbed the Eldian Soldier and squeezed him like an egg." Magath's lips twitched downwards at the mention of the traitor, but his eyes still showed no hatred.

"Annie Leonhart was always... a little brutal. She had talent with her kicks, and I knew she would make an excellent Female Titan, unlike the Armour, she can't just run towards a wall, so the military needed someone capable of using the Female Titan the right way."

"Yes, she would make the perfect Female Titan, but I have a feeling you were against that." Erwin's words made Magath's lips twitch upwards as he nodded, reaffirming what Erwin had already suspected.

"Yes, because out of all Warriors, Annie was the only one who didn't care about anyone at the time. I knew she hated her father, and told the general as much." Magath said with a sigh.

"I take it your general didn't listen to you, and he decided to choose her as the Female Titan nonetheless." Magath remained silent, but Erwin knew he had hit the nail on the head with that one.

From these questions alone, he was sure that Commander Magath was the kind of man who is careful with what he does and does something drastic only when pressured by those higher than him, not to mention that whoever this General was, that was in a higher position than Magath wasn't the smartest.

If Erwin had been in his place, he would have listened to the man who is the closest to the Warriors, while Annie might be a deadly Female Titan that can use its power to the fullest. Her ties to the mainland were always as important as her abilities.

A soldier who is not well mentally cannot be trusted with even higher powers, like the ability to turn into a Titan.

"Where are Reiner and Bertholdt? I don't see them anywhere." Magath questioned gravely, already having an idea on where they could be.

"Only the two of them, not Marcel!" Erwin reminded him with a look of intrigue, not telling him what their fates were.

"I heard one of your soldiers blurting out that they didn't even need to use the Jaw, so I take it Marcel is dead, which is surprising, I knew the kid. He was worthy, and I'm not talking about his ability to turn into an ugly Titan. Marcel was worth more than that." From his voice, there was a subtle hint of grief. Erwin wondered if this Marcel was Magath's favorite soldier, but the Commander of the Warriors showed no signs; he was as cold as ice and as blank as a tombstone.

"Yes, Marcel is dead. But I wonder how do you think he died?" Erwin questioned with narrowed eyes, knowing this question was important.

"At first, I thought it was betrayal, but no. Marcel would have seen it coming. The only way it could happen is if he was in an emotional state. He used to be that way when his brother was brought up, so I think something happened, and Marcel was caught off guard and paid the price." Magath answered truthfully, knowing there was no point in not answering, but he ensured his answers were careful and gave out just the right amount of information.

I wonder if his General is truly as careless as he says, or is that just a plan to make me underestimate him, Erwin wondered as he looked at Magath carefully. Hange had brought up the option of making him talk through pain.

But Erwin knew that would be a waste of time. Someone like Magath wouldn't talk because of pain. They needed to earn information through words.

"Tell me one more thing, Commander Magath. I have received information about the many countries that Marley had conquered since you retook everything Eldia had over a century ago, but I wonder why there's never a mention of the War Hammer Titan fighting in the War with the other Warriors?" Magath knew he should keep his mouth shut, but if he didn't answer, he would make it clear he was nervous.

If he realised that I'm nervous, he will understand that the War Hammer Titan, while it's the strongest Titan, has never been used before, and knowing the War Hammer is not ready to fight and has barely ever fought, No, it could ruin everything back at the mainland, Magath wondered as he took another sip of tea to calm his nerves.

"The War Hammer Titan was always used somewhere else, it's powers are destructive. They had their own objectives, far away from where the Warriors were." Magath answered with a blank look, but the smirk on Erwin's face made his blood go cold.

"Is that so, but I have information that you often had team training amongst warriors, you even have the new warriors meeting the older ones three years before the Curse of Ymir kills them, so you make sure the new Warriors know how to work with one another, yet you are telling me the War Hammer was far enough away to never be seen, the information I got never mention that someone new ever talked with the Warriors who they thought might be the holder of the War Hammer, so this mystery shifter never once met the Warriors. This tells me something."

"And what does this tell you?" Magath questioned with a blank voice. Despite the heart hammering on his throat, he refused to show any sign of distress in his face. He was a Commander; he would smile at death when it came to take him.

"That this Shifter is someone that you don't even know yourself, if you knew who they were, you would know how important it is for this Shifter to be at the very least familiar with the other warriors, and you are the Commander of the Warrior Unit. You make sure the Warriors are well trained for every fight possible, and if you don't know who the War Hammer Shifter is when is your job to train them, that means that whoever this Shifter is, there's a high chance they have Never fought in their lives." Erwin spoke with a look of triumph as Magath's face went a little white.

That wasn't all that Erwin had noticed; another thing that confused him even more was why the Tybur Family was so important to Marley. While he understood they held the War Hammer Titan, the way they were allowed to live in big mansions, and most importantly, the War Hammer Shifter wasn't trained with the other Warriors, if trained at all, made Erwin wonder if their status was higher than just a rich Eldian Family that helped in the Titan War over a century ago.

Unless... Erwin's eyes widened as he suddenly stood up, dragging the chair behind him across the floor.

"I have to go, Commander Magath. I would appreciate it if we could drink tea again." Erwin said with a hint of respect before turning on his heels and heading for the door.

"I would appreciate it if I had the chance to talk with Pieck." Erwin heard his request and wondered why her, why not Zeke, someone they used to call a boy wonder.

"You might have that chance," Erwin said sharply as he left the cell and walked away. He didn't even hear Moblit walking behind him and asking why he left the cell. Erwin had one thing in mind, something that could give them all a huge edge.

There's more to this War Hammer Shifter; whoever they are, they are not amongst the warriors during the training, and since neither Zeke nor Annie ever said anything about anyone suspicious inside the Liberio, anyone who they think might be the holder of the War Hammer, that means that this Shifter, unlike the rest, this one lives outside of Liberio. But why? Why would an Eldian who Marley hates live outside of Liberio? Erwin wondered as he walked away, already thinking of talking with Hange, Moblit, and Levi about this.

They may have found a big flaw in Marley, a flaw they could exploit to the fullest.

So our boy Erwin is already close to figuring out that the Tybur Family are the true Rulers of Marley and not just a rich family. Magath also understands that out of all the Shifters who betrayed him, Pieck is the one he can trust to a degree. That's why he specifically wanted to talk with Pieck instead of Zeke or Annie.

Chapter 82, Chapter 83, and Chapter 84 will come out on 19-21 April.