"We'll be together again, I promise!" Erwin Smith smiled and patted a girl's head as he turned to leave. Those were Cordelia's brother's last words to her before he left for the military. After the suspected murder of their parents by the governmen...
"The outer gate was a success," A Scout Captain said out loud as he stood next to Commander Erwin. They watched trails of green smoke rose in the distance. The wind fluttered through their cloaks.
Erwin narrowed his eyebrows as the smoke began to disperse in the sky.
Only five flares...
"Still, it's odd..." The Captain continued, "There's no attack coming. On the contrary, we've not seen a single Titan so far... Could it be they were not prepared for our sudden assault?"
Erwin hesitated as he thought of the various possibilities as to why this mission was going so smoothly,
"We can only hope... But..." Erwin began to trail off.
"Commander!"
A sudden voice called out, catching the attention of Erwin and the Captain that stood next to him.
"Arlerlt?" Erwin said when he gazed upon Armin who charged towards him with metal mugs in his arms.
"Status report?" Erwin asked as he examined the items in his grasp.
"I saw what was left of a fire on top of the Wall so I investigated below..." He said hurriedly, "I'm pretty sure someone was camping," He shifted the metal items in his arms to show Erwin, "This pot was cold when I found it but there were lit ashes scattered on the ground."
Erwin looked serious, "How odd..."
"That's not all," Armin continued, "These cups... they have black liquid residue inside them. It looks like black tea almost. It smells good, too but I don't recognize the scent... And...," Armin shook his head as he paused, "There's... three cups."
Erwin tried not to show his surprise. It wasn't just Reiner and Bertholdt they were dealing with. There was at least one other that joined them. There could be more.
"So there were at least three people on top of the Wall..." Erwin said as he began to think.
"Th-Three, you say?!" The Captain gasped.
"Was the metal pot completely cool to the touch?" Erwin asked Armin.
"...Yes," Armin confirmed.
Erwin placed a hand to his chin, "...I find that odd."
"I agree..." Armin said.
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Erwin shifted his gaze to the distance and squinted, "We charged here at full speed using horses and ODM gear. Had they noticed our approach by sound or by sight, they'd have only two minutes to react. A pot in use wouldn't cool in just two minutes... They had to have known we were coming for five minutes or more."
Armin and the other Captain gasped.
Erwin continued, "This means they had plenty of time to prepare for us."
