"The combat target of the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment is humans, not Titans, so it's different from the normal Vertical Maneuvering Equipment."
Before the operation began, Yago and Hange went with the others to visit an old friend—Lynch, who was responsible for repairing and manufacturing Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
The Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was also his design. Lynch had once been a noble, so he naturally showed some bias toward the royal government.
But after so many years of what the royal government had done, Lynch had grown deeply disappointed—so much so that even the king on the throne was a fake.
Thus, Lynch told the Survey Corps everything about the strengths and weaknesses of the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, making it easier for the Survey Corps to formulate corresponding tactics.
In the end, it was Armin who proposed an idea: using the Survey Corps' commonly used signal flares, increasing the propellant, and turning them into large smoke bombs. That way, once the Central Military Police lost their vision, they wouldn't be able to exploit the long-range attack advantage of the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
The smoke could also cover the Survey Corps as they closed in for close-quarters combat with the Central Military Police.
"Captain! All members of the Levi Squad, including reserve members, have assembled!" Petra's eyes sparkled as she stood at attention and saluted.
Behind Petra, aside from Jurgen, Eld—who had originally been injured—and Oluo, who still had bandages wrapped around his head, had also returned to the squad. In Oluo's words,
"How could we Levi Squad miss something like overthrowing the royal government? We're the Survey Corps' strongest combat force!"
In addition to the fully assembled Levi Squad, there were also several new recruits—Jean Kirstein, Armin, Marco, Connie, Sasha, and Mikasa. All of them were extremely talented recruits and also reserve members of the Levi Squad.
There were also Yago, Annie, and Ymir—three soldiers who possessed the power of Titans.
For the Central Military Police to try to block such a lineup was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Under Erwin's deployment, the Levi Squad and Hange Squad launched the first assault, while the Survey Corps' other forces secured the entire Reiss estate.
"Moblit, remember—if there's anything precious inside later, make sure it's protected! Nifa, Kira, you two be careful as well!" Hange repeatedly reminded her subordinates.
Moblit helplessly exchanged glances with the others. Having followed Hange for so long, Moblit naturally knew what precious things Hange was talking about—everything related to Titans.
Levi's gaze was complicated as he looked at his subordinates. At some point in the past, Levi had thought that he would no longer care about life and death partings. But when his subordinates truly fell before his eyes, Levi became more unrestrained than anyone.
"Prepare for combat! Top priority is ensuring your own safety." As Levi gave the order, the soldiers of the Levi Squad and Hange Squad all drew their blades.
Before them was an inconspicuous wooden door inside the Reiss estate. According to the confession of captured Central Military Police prisoners, this was the hidden sanctuary of the Reiss family.
...
At the same time, behind the wooden door, dozens of rifles were aimed straight at it.
Inside the crystal cavern, more than thirty Central Military Police led by Traute stood atop tall crystal pillars.
Traute stared fixedly at the wooden door. As the deputy leader of the action unit, she was confident she could take out the first soldier who charged in through the exit with a single shot.
Creak—the heavy wooden door began to shake.
All the Central Military Police immediately went on alert.
Bang! The wooden door was smashed open. Traute instantly fired a shot, sending wood chips flying everywhere.
What left Traute stunned was that what appeared outside the door were only several huge wooden barrels, rolling down the steps with a rumble.
The surrounding Central Military Police were also completely baffled. Traute gritted her teeth and shouted angrily, "Open fire! It could be a trap!"
Under the deputy leader's command, the Central Military Police no longer hesitated, and a torrent of firepower poured into those barrels.
Bang! The barrels exploded violently, and pungent white smoke immediately poured out endlessly.
Traute's eyes shrank. "Not good! Smoke bombs—they're trying to interfere with our vision. Stay alert immediately!!"
"Now—attack!" Wearing special masks and goggles, Levi gave the order, and everyone immediately charged out.
The Vertical Maneuvering Equipment activated, steel cables fired, gas jets burst forth—Levi was the first to rush into the crystal cavern.
The sharp blades were unsheathed. With just a flash of cold light, two Central Military Police widened their eyes, clutching their blood-spraying throats as they fell.
"Open fire!" The Central Military Police also spotted Levi at this moment, and in an instant, firepower poured toward him.
Levi immediately ducked behind a crystal pillar. Relying on his extraordinary observation skills, he roughly grasped the enemy's numbers.
Loading a signal flare into the signal pistol in his hand, Levi said,
"Attention—there are a total of 34 enemies. Prepare to engage."
At the same time, Levi pulled the trigger. The signal flare shot out, and a vast cloud of smoke instantly enveloped him, causing the Central Military Police to lose their vision.
"Damn it!" Traute also realized that the weakness of the Central Military Police had been discovered, but now there was no way back for them.
Bang! Jean nimbly dodged a bullet fired by a nearby Military Police officer.
The steel cable launcher of the Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was fixed together with the rifle on the wrist. This caused the Central Military Police's attack range to be restricted to a semicircle in front of them. Moreover, reloading their rifles was also a major problem.
If they kept their distance from the enemy, the Central Military Police naturally had enough time and space to reload. But if the enemy closed in, the cumbersome reloading process became their nightmare.
Jean accelerated to the right, rushed into the smoke, and, using the cover of the smoke, baited out another shot from the Central Military Police officer.
The officer hurriedly began reloading again, but by then Jean had already rushed behind him. Without any hesitation, the blade pierced straight through the officer's chest.
Amid blood and fire, Jean had also matured.
On the other side, the Levi Squad worked in perfect coordination. Levi charged at the front, drawing more than half of the Central Military Police's firepower. Led by Jurgen, the other Levi Squad members followed closely behind, eliminating every Military Police officer who threatened the captain's safety.
Connie covered Sasha, and Sasha's unfailing marksmanship sent off a whole group of Central Military Police.
The Hange Squad also fought bravely.
Within a short time after the battle began, the Central Military Police had already lost more than a dozen men.
Traute realized they couldn't keep bleeding like this and immediately ordered a retreat and regrouping—no one was to be isolated.
Once regrouped, the Central Military Police's firepower became denser, temporarily blocking the Survey Corps' offensive momentum.
"Levi! Hahaha, I didn't expect it to be you!"
A rampant laugh reached everyone's ears. Hearing this familiar voice, the Central Military Police were instantly invigorated.
"Captain Kenny!!"
Kenny entered the scene wearing a black top hat.
Bang! Bang! Two rapid shots rang out, and two Survey Corps members from the Hange Squad fell in response.
"Kenny!" Levi's gaze turned ferocious. Especially after witnessing Kenny kill two Survey Corps members right before his eyes, Levi twisted sideways and charged straight at Kenny.
"Perfect timing!" Kenny removed the used barrels, reloaded, and fearlessly met Levi head-on.
"Faster—Historia is in serious danger right now!" Ymir's face was filled with anxiety.
Annie, Yago, Mikasa, and Armin followed behind. This was also part of Armin's plan: while the captain and the others drew the Central Military Police's attention, they would take the opportunity to slip into the smoke and rescue Eren and Historia.