The Empire of Titans Chapter 73 (Father and Daughter) (Patreon)

They got to Orvud District and at the Garrison Headquarters. Ymir jumped off the wagon as Eren and Historia jumped out, hearing footsteps approaching.

"Please have your squad stand by in the hall now." The Soldier ordered, causing Levi to look at him. "They're almost ready to begin the meeting."

"We'll be right there," Levi said dismissively. The Soldier disappears as Historia, Eren, and Ymir approach the Captain.

Historia wasn't sure how to feel about what happened. She knew siding with Eren would go against her father, but she had made that decision and held no regrets. But Eren had promised they would keep her father alive, and she would have the chance to talk to him; perhaps, they could find a connection, but when the huge Golden Lightning had struck near the church, Historia had known right away that something had gone wrong with their plan.

Only for a Titan, more than three times the size of the Colossal Titan, to burst from the ground like a creature from Hell itself. She couldn't see his face; he had risen up to two hundred meters before his legs gave out and broke, and his entire body fell on the ground, almost killing the nearby soldiers; he kept crawling through the ground like a worm, using his large arms to crawl forward, but she knew the Titan was her father, and any chance of talking to him again disappeared like smoke in the wind.

A part of her had briefly wondered why he did that. He just needed to surrender. Instead, he injected himself with Spinal Fluid. Historia had tried to get closer in her Titan form, but the heat from him caused her feathers to catch fire immediately; she had quickly flown away, knowing there was no way of getting closer without dying.

"Historia, since your father decided to become an ugly fucker, once he's killed. You and Eren will become King and Queen of the Walls." Levi informed her as Kenny approached them while giving Levi a pointy look. Historia frowned slightly at the thought, but she reminded herself that her father made that decision, not her. Perhaps they could have found a way to connect if he had given up.

"Wait. Queen Historia? King Eren?! You're kidding right?" Sasha shouted, feeling perplexed.

"The coup d'état was successful, but... the people won't follow Military rule forever. We need to give them a heartwarming story. One where the rightful heir retakes her crown from the pretender. Eren will marry Historia due to the Founder and with him being in charge. I believe Historia won't have to be forced into a marriage she doesn't want." Eren placed his hand on her shoulder, supporting her; she quickly grasped his hand. She always felt lucky to have these people with her. Especially Eren and Ymir.

Connie raised his hand, gaining Levi's attention. "A-Are you sure about this? Isn't t-this ju-just too much for everyone, especially for Kris-Historia."

"What Connie is trying to say is that this is a huge responsibility for everyone. Shouldn't we ask what she wants first, instead of forcing her into a role she might not want." Jean explained, earning an eye roll from Connie, who mumbled something about him saying the same thing.

"It's fine." Historia said, earning looks of surprise from her friends.

"Huh?" Jean asked.

"If my next duty is to become a queen, then that's what I'll do." Historia said with a look of determination in her eyes.

"But Historia." Armin started, but she quickly stopped him with a shake of her head.

"I do appreciate your concern, but... whether this is forced on me. I've decided. Captain. Before that I have two conditions for you." Historia said as she looked at Levi.

"And that is?" Levi asked with a slight groan.

"I don't want Annie to be under your supervision anymore. She has proven her loyalty to us, and we should reward her." Historia requested, much to Annie's surprise, who didn't expect something like this from Historia.

"That can be arranged," Levi said with a shrug, hoping they could complete this job as soon as possible. Gunther, Lynne, and Henning still needed to be buried. He would personally visit Gunther's family to give them his cloak and tell them that he died in service of Humanity and for a better future. He, Hange, and Petra would meet in the headquarters to remember those who gave their life for the greater good. As Levi thought of a better future, his eyes found Eren and Historia.

These kids sure have grown, he thought, but he knew this was only the beginning. As far as they knew, the entire world hated their guts; it would be difficult for anyone to try and make connections with the other countries, and knowing their luck, Levi wasn't really optimistic, but he hoped the two kids would be able to live through all of it.

"What's your second request?" Levi asked almost lazily, wanting this to end so they could deal with the ugly fucker crawling like a worm.

"My fate is still my own, I want to put everything on the line." Historia said.

"Eren, Historia, Ymir. Go get the ODM gear on and meet us in the hall." Levi said as he headed into the building. Historia and Ymir grabbed their gear and some extra clothes and found a room to change.

"You sure on this. Being a Queen is a big responsibility." Ymir said as she helped Historia strap the ODM gear on.

"I know is a big responsibility, but what about you? You know you can always marry me and Eren, and become a Second Queen." Historia teased with a cute smile.

"Me? Queen?" Ymir thought deeply as she stared at the wall. "Back in Marley, they worshipped me because they thought I was Ymir come again, it felt good back then, but then everything changed one day. I decided to live for myself, and being in such a high place, is something I want to avoid, but I promised you that I would marry you one day. I will keep that promise." Ymir said as she looked at Historia.

"I still remember the first time I laid my eyes on you. You reminded me of myself. I genuinely thought that you would accidentally break your neck the first time we tried ODM Gea- Ouch!!" Ymir moaned in annoyance as Historia punched her shoulder half-heartedly with a smile.

"What was that for?" Ymir questioned in annoyance while rubbing her sore shoulder.

"This is for being there for me from the very beginning." She said that before kissing Ymir on the lips, she was caught off guard but quickly returned the kiss, quickly lifting her up in the air. However, it was quickly interrupted when someone cleared their throat.

They both quickly pulled away to see Annie giving them both a deadpan look. "How about you save that after we are done here." She suggested with the same look.

"You need to shorten that nose a little bit, Leonhart," Ymir commented with a smirk, but Annie smiled slightly; she didn't seem bothered by the comment about her nose.

"At least I'm not so tall that I need to crouch every time I enter every door in existence. But look at the positives, you are the first to know that it has started to rain." Annie said smugly. Ymir growled in anger, but the short blonde girl walked away before Ymir could tear into a new one, which would likely end in a disaster for Ymir.

Ymir sighed in annoyance before turning to face Historia, who was wearing her ODM Gear. "Can we continue where we left off?" Ymir asked teasingly. Historia giggled cutely, giving her girlfriend a quick kiss. She tried to follow, but Historia started walking away, out of her reach.

"Captain Levi is waiting for us." She said as she walked away. Ymir mumbled something about the midget being the source of all her annoyance.

Historia and Ymir walk in to find everyone waiting. Their friend's heads turn toward the two girls. They come to stand next to Mikasa, Eren, and Annie. Erwin gives them a nod as Annie turns to whisper to her.

"Once you're queen, you can punch that smug runt right in the face." Annie suggested with an evil smirk on her face.

"This is about him beating you during the trial, but don't worry. What kind of Queen would I be if I ignored my people's wishes? I will avenge you, Annie." Historia said teasingly; Annie found it a little annoying but still quite amusing.

"We have determined the Reiss Titan's location. It's southwest approaching Orvud. It's fast. At this rate, it'll reach the walls before dawn." The soldier said with a loud gulp.

"Right, understood," Carsten said before turning to look at Erwin. "Commander Erwin. I'm sure everyone here would like to hear your plan. How can we evacuate the people in such a short time?" Erwin looks at the Captain.

"That's not part of the plan." Erwin said.

"What's that?" Carsten said, his face getting paler.

"The people of Orvud District will need to stay exactly where they are," Erwin said. Soldiers gasped. Levi's squad, Hange, and Mike, kept straight faces.

"But Commander.." Carsten started, looking shocked by what he heard. Erwin kept a straight face. Carsten's eyes widened, and he grabbed Erwin by the jacket. "What the hell are you thinking Erwin? If we don't get these civilians out of the city, they'll die by the thousands! That hulking monstrosity will be a stone's throw from the wall by morning!"

"That Titan is an Abnormal." Hange said

"Right, and what the hell does that even mean?" Carsten asked.

"It behaves strangely. Unlike most Titans we encounter, it's only attracted to large groups of people. Hence the word abnormal. Put simply, given the choice between a few soldiers right next to it and a distant but densely populated city, it'll choose the city. So if we were to evacuate Orvud's populace to the interior of Wall Sina right now, the Titan would change its course, destroying the wall and anything in its path. Left unchecked, it would make for the city with the great density of people, Mitras. The ensuing rampage would deliver a devastating blow to Humanity." Hange said. The Soldiers looked worried. Ymir didn't blame them. They were risking a lot keeping the people there.

"If we're to stop this thing, it'll have to be outside the walls of Orvud District. For that to happen, we require the citizens here to act as bait. However, this doesn't change the fact that our first and foremost duty as soldiers is to protect the people. In the event that we're unable to halt the target, we'll take measures to minimize civilian losses. We'll announce a district-wide evacuation drill tonight. The people will be gathered away from the outer wall, ready to escape if the battle is lost." Erwin said. Carsten lowered his eyes in a deadly slit.

"It seems there's no other choice." Carsten said with a defeated voice.

"The body of this Titan is the largest we've seen yet. As such, it presents an easy target. Our wall-mounted cannons should prove highly effective, but if we can't bring it down with artillery..." Erwin said. He looked towards Eren, Mikasa, and the rest of the Shifters. "The Scout Regiment will throw everything we have at it."

Tomorrow

The sun rose, and the Scout Regiment stood on the wall, watching the Titan get closer. Ymir and Historia stood side by side with their squad and Erwin. Levi stood with his arms crossed.

"Fire!" A soldier yelled. Cannons started going off, and the cannon balls hit their mark. The Titan kept moving as the cannons continued to fire.

"Well. How'd that do?" Erwin asked. Ymir gasped as a massive hand came out of the smoke and knocked down some trees.

"Fire." A soldier from down on the ground yells, and more cannons go off, but the Titan continues to move.

"Damnit." Ymir said.

"Looks like the field cannons are even less effective." Erwin said.

"Makes sense. The cannons on the wall have a way better angle, and they didn't do shit to it either. What's the problem?" Levi asked in a dull voice.

"Unprepared soldiers, scaped together cannons, and shallow leadership." Erwin said.

"Of course. It does explain stuff." Ymir said. Erwin nodded.

"The Titans have always attacked from the South. Not only is this a Northern garrison, it's in the interior. Therefore, I can tell you for a fact, this is the best we'll get." Erwin said.

"Yeah. That much is painfully clear." Levi said. As the Titan got closer, they could see holes in the Titan where the Cannonballs had hit their mark.

"And of course your strategy for getting us through this battle comes down to a gamble. Just like every other plan that you've come up with." Levi said with a sigh.

"Erwin! I brought the goodies!" Hange called in a sing-song voice. They surround Hange's squad to see a net with gunpowder barrels sitting in the net. "All the gunpowder, ropes, and netting I could find! We still need to put it together, though, and of course. Our secret weapon." A man comes pushing a barrel with ODM handles on it. "Ooh. Got this, too. There's another one just like it a bit further down. The trigger's held in place so once fired, it'll wind back up, just like ODM gear." Hange sounded excited about everything. "So. We do any damage?" Hange looks at Levi.

"Well, slightly more than pissing on it." Levi said with a deadpan look.

"Then we'll actually use these things. Exciting." Hange said with a look of crazy excitement in her eyes. Levi sighed before shaking his head, wondering once again what her problem was.

"Captain Levi, Mikasa Ackerman. Are you two ready?" Commander Erwin asked. The two nodded as they held knives in their hands. With a quick stab in their palms, two lightning bolts struck down. Mikasa and Levi's Titan form appeared on top of the wall. Both quickly formed giant bows on their hands with their hardening ability.

"Eren, do you think they can make food with that ability?" Sasha questioned with awe in her voice as she imagined a mountain of meat; her friends shook their heads, leaving it to Sasha to say stuff like that.

"No, Sasha, they can't make meat. Even if they tried, it is not something you can eat, it would be as hard as a rock." Annie explained. Sasha's face fell in despair, knowing her dream could never come true; Annie smiled in satisfaction, enjoying her despair.

"Loose!" Erwin roared as both Mikasa and Levi let their arrows fly, both rushing towards the nape of the Abnormal Titan, but the moment the arrows got close, the Titan let out a blow of steam, causing the arrows to be blown away, flying into the distance behind him before smashing on the ground.

"Again!" Erwin shouted, not really surprised with the end result. The same thing happened; their arrows couldn't reach him. They needed to go with plan B.

"Levi, you two stay like that," Erwin ordered once they stopped losing their arrows at him. He turned to face the others.

"Hange Squad. Jean. Sasha. Conny. Ymir. You'll handle that side." Erwin ordered with a loud voice.

"Yes sir!"

The Titan was getting closer. The cannons started adjusting to face down.

"The enemy is moving! Adjust your aim!" Carsten shouted as loudly as he could. Ymir looks down with a look of dread. The Titan was almost to the wall. "Our target is the back of its neck!" Ymir bit her bottom lip. "Fire!" The cannons go off as the balls hit the Titan. The Titan comes to a stop and lies there.

"Did they get it?" Conny asked as he joined her with Levi, Jean, and Sasha.

"It stopped." Ymir said.

"Well done! We've tory into its flesh! One more volley and we.." Carsten stopped as steam came at them. Ymir put her arm up to shield her face.

"So hot?!" Connie yelled.

"Keep shooting!" Carsten yelled out even more loudly. Cannon fire rings out. A bang comes, and Ymir gasps. The Titans head was up to the top of the wall, but not its full height.

A hand comes out of the smoke and is brought down onto the wall, sending debris flying as the other hand comes on, and the Titan pulls itself up into a standing position. Historia's eyes widen at the sight of its face. There was no face. Part of its brain was showing, but the eyes and nose were gone.

"Disgusting," Jean said, wrinkling his nose at the sight. The Titan looks around, and parts of its belly fall off and hit the wall, knocking some of the Soldiers off. In his full weight, he was four times the size of the Walls.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Marco said, completely disgusted. The Titan let out a strange muffled cry that echoes for miles away. Citizens start screaming, running away as fast as possible.

"Get the water dumped on you." Hange ordered.

"Yes, Hange." Sasha, Ymir, Jean, and Connie said right away. They knelt in front of the barrel of water that was set out as Mike talked to Carsten. Ymir picked up the bucket and dumped the cold water over her body. The others did the same. Mike came over and grabbed a bucket to dump the water over himself as golden lightning struck near the Abnormal Titan; Eren's Titan appeared and let out a roar, standing Twenty-Nine Meters Tall.

"Is it just me or does he look different." Jean voiced out, noticing the new armor plates on his chest, and his hands were fully crystallized.

"All set Commander!" Armin called out as another golden lightning struck down, and the Beast Titan appeared on the other side of the Wall; Zeke Yeager quickly grasped the barrel near him, with Mike and Annie watching over him in case he decided to do something. Ymir helped Sasha push the barrel forward. Armin had the other one on the other side. Erwin got his gun ready.

"You try something, and I will kill you." Annie threatened, looking up at Zeke, who let out a chuckle of amusement, using his left hand to scratch the top of his ear.

"No worries, sweet Annie. I only want the good of all Eldians, that includes you." Zeke said with a wide smile, his voice coming out as very deep as he prepared his right arm to throw the barrel. Annie looked furious at the words he chose to call her but decided not to take the bait and act as if he said nothing.

"On my mark!" Erwin calls. The Attack Titan roars as he makes a stance. "Now!" Erwin shoots red smoke into the air. Sasha and Armin pull the triggers, and hooks shot into the Titan's arms. Another trigger is pulled, and the barrel rolls toward the Titan's arms.

"Take this!" Sasha yelled. The barrels hit the Titan's arms and explode. The Titan let out a roar of pain and started falling forward.

"It lost its balance." One shouted as Mikasa and Levi quickly let loose another barrage of arrows, but this time, the Titan let out a burst of steam, causing them to be blown away. It seems he uses the Steam only when his nape is threatened, Zeke concluded as he stretched out his arms. The moment he stopped using his steam again...

"NOW!" Erwin roared. Zeke quickly threw the barrel with all the strength he had, causing it to fly across the entire city before reaching the stomach of the Enormous Titan. Eren runs towards the Titan, carrying the netting full of gunpowder. Historia was holding her breath as Eren roared and tossed the net into the Titan's open mouth.

Ian, who was inside the barrel on the Titan's stomach, was already burning as he bit down on his hand as hard as possible. An enormous explosion rocked the entire town, and the wall itself shook as the upper body of the abnormal Titan was blown into large bits that started falling down on the city below. Ian's Colossal Titan was in bad shape as it fell down the other side of the wall.

"Go! Deploy your ODM gear and finish it off!" Erwin yelled. Historia turned her gas on and went flying through the air. She uses hooks to connect to a piece of Titan and slashes through it. A huge part of the Titan goes by her.

"That one." Historia shouted, seeing part of the eye socket.

She connected her hooks to it and flew towards it. Historia roared as she slashed through it. An image of her father screaming flashed through her head, making her gasp. A memory comes to her head of a boy in a jail cell.

' "Father. You need to listen to me. You could easily eradicate the Titans for good!" The boy, who Historia thought was her father, was looking at her grandfather. "So why? Why won't you just do it?" Uri appeared.

"I can handle it, Brother. It's fine. Pray for me." Uri said with a calming smile, reassuring him that everything would be alright.

.

Her mother stood in a maid outfit as Rod knelt before her, clinging to her dress.

"Alma, you're the only one who understands." Rod said as he sobbed in front of her.

.

"You can leave it to me, Father. I won't lose to the ghosts of our ancestors." Frieda promised as she injected herself with the spinal fluid. '

Historia gasped as she was pulled out of her father's memories. Her father's yell rang in her head, and an explosion came. Historia was knocked out of the sky before crashing down against a wagon; she took deep breaths, suddenly feeling exhausted after everything that happened.

'Those were father's memories. Why was I seeing them?' Historia thought she didn't know why, but she would remember them.

"The Titan's been destroyed."

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"You're not injured, are you?"

"It looked like you dealt the final blow."

Historia turned her head to look at all the people in front of her; they all looked at her in amazement.

Historia stood up to see the civilians looking at her as if she was a Goddess.

"It's okay. You all are Safe. My name is Historia Reiss." Historia shouted with a fierce voice.

"And I am the rightful queen," Historia added with a firm tone. The crowd looked at the girl in shock, but they slowly started to bow. "I don't think I'll get used to it," Historia said with a slight blush.

.

.

Eren watched from afar with a proud smile; now, it was finally over. With Rod Reiss dead, they would become King and Queen. It was time to start the next part of the Plan.

He watched as Zeke was pulled out of his Titan by Mike, who still kept a close eye on him. Annie and Ymir approached him, both looking down at Historia. Now, a crowd was bowing down to her.

"I'm so proud of Her!" Ymir stiffened as she wiped away tears from her eyes. Eren chuckled as Annie rolled her eyes.

.

.

"Feeling better, Ian?" Rico asked, concerned, as she used her shoulder for him to lean on; his skin had blackened from the fire, and his hair had burned out, but he was still alive as steam came out from his body.

"T-Thank You, Ri-Rico!" He rasped as he was placed on a stretcher. Rico smiled softly before saluting to the second in command.

"Don't worry, just wait until your children hear about your bravery. They will become your biggest fan." Rico said with a smile, despite the bad burns all over his body; Ian chuckled before wincing in pain.

Rico watched in silence as he was carried away; she heard footsteps approaching and looked to see one of the Yeagerists approaching; if she wasn't mistaken, his name was Marco.

"Here, some water." Marco offered as he handed her a bucket of water. She had completely forgotten about the heat and the minor burns on her body; she quickly dumped the bucket on her face and a feeling of cold spread on her; she felt much better now as she sighed in relief.

"Thank you, ahh-" "Marco Bott. In your service." He said with a kind smile. She found herself smiling back, but it wavered slightly at the sight of injured soldiers; some had perished when the Titan's guts had fallen off his bare stomach, quite a few houses had collapsed when Ian had turned into the Colossal, thankfully, he was a Semi version, and the majority of his blast happened inside the Titan's stomach.

"So much destruction. Will this ever end?" Rico mumbled under her breath, but it seemed Marco had heard her.

"I can't say for sure, but I know it will get better from now on." Rico wanted to dismiss his words but found herself intrigued.

"What makes you think that?" Rico asked, sounding intrigued.

"I have known Eren for three and a half years since we joined the Training Corps. With him, we are prepared and ready to face whatever comes next. It might sound naive, and perhaps it is, but Historia is kind, and Eren knows when is needed to make harsh decisions. So, I believe the worst part has passed. Those that have suffered. We will grieve for them, but we should remember one thing. Their lives meant something in the end. Their sacrifices led to this moment, and if they are watching us right now. They will be proud." Marco said with a smile; Rico cocked an eyebrow but still smiled softly, knowing he was telling the truth.

She wondered if Mitabi was watching over her, but she knew if he was, he would be happy to know that all their sacrifices led them here.

"You are right. How about we go and celebrate, everyone will be at the bar." Rico said with a small blush on her cheeks. Marco blushed heavily, looking away like a kid who had been caught stealing cookies.

"I-I accept."

Chapter 74 and Chapter 75 will come out on 25 - 26 February