Does everyone have this feeling?
When you are thirsty, it feels like you could drink an entire bucket of water in one go, maybe even a whole tub. But most people can barely finish a few hundred milliliters before feeling uncomfortably full. When you stand on a sports field full of energy, you feel like you could run one hundred meters in 9.5 seconds, even faster than Usain Bolt. Yet after sprinting for only a few seconds, you are already out of breath and strength.
This shows that people's expectations of themselves are always higher than their actual limits. It is similar to the thought, "If I did it, I would definitely succeed, but..." There is no need to listen to anything after "but" because that person is definitely overestimating themselves.
Rayan was no different.
He originally thought he could at least run a full kilometer, but he began gasping for breath before even reaching eight hundred meters. His chest tightened with a slight stabbing pain, and his throat grew dry and sore. There was no helping it. On one hand, he had been a homebody for too long, making it hard for him to mentally accept long-distance running. On the other hand, his body was truly weak, his cardiopulmonary function poor. If he forced himself to continue, he might even risk sudden death.
So he decisively stopped running, but he forced himself not to rest. Instead, he kept walking at a quick pace.
While walking, he used the portable telescope hanging from his neck to observe his surroundings, constantly checking whether any titans were nearby.
This flat plain had one clear advantage: a wide and unobstructed view. Relying only on the naked eye might not be very effective, but with binoculars, it was a different story. He could easily see several kilometers away. He might not be able to spot small objects, but if it was a titan, it definitely would not escape his sight.
Of course, this portable telescope was nowhere near as good as the professional ones mounted on observation platforms. Those could magnify up to ten times. However, the professional ones had a major flaw. They could not be held by hand because even the slightest tremble would cause the image to drift uncontrollably. They needed to be fixed to a tripod. The portable one was far more convenient. He could walk and look around without issue.
At this moment, after confirming there were no titans around, Rayan let out a slight breath of relief. To be honest, he was indeed very scared. Who would not be? These were titans, the kind that would grab you and eat you alive.
Even more terrifying was that their faces looked human, making them even creepier thanks to the uncanny valley effect. Rayan was terrified, but he did not dare hesitate too long. After walking for a while and regaining some strength, he began running again.
Finally, after about forty to fifty minutes, he saw them.
A group of humans.
There were probably fewer than one thousand people, all ragged, exhausted, and moving like zombies. They hardly looked human anymore, resembling a wandering mass of corpses instead.
But morale was secondary. In Rayan's view, their biggest mistake was that they were heading in the wrong direction.
They had moved too far from the walls. It was probably because of titans chasing them that they had been forced to flee in panic, losing their way and ending up near the edge of the island.
Ironically, it was exactly because they went in the wrong direction that Rayan was able to find them at all. A blessing in disguise.
At this moment, Rayan could see them, but they could not see him. His small figure was utterly inconspicuous from a distance. Considering that running toward them head-on might scare them, and also that he needed to make them realize they were going the wrong way and had to turn back, Rayan thought for a moment, decided what to say, and then spent about twenty minutes circling around to come up behind them.
Then he ran toward them as fast as he could.
"Hey! Hey!"
He shouted while running, but the group continued their dazed march. Hearing his calls, they gradually stopped and turned their heads.
Their clouded eyes saw a child in a strange military uniform running toward them from behind. They were slightly surprised. Compared to their own miserable appearance, this child clearly had not suffered through this long nightmare.
Moreover, there had been no children among the 250,000 people sent out for the operation. Children had been allowed to stay behind within the walls to farm. Some might have thought the government was showing kindness. They were not. They simply did not care about the lives of refugee children.
The true reason for leaving the children behind was to make sure the 250,000 adults willingly carried out the suicide mission. Everyone knew this operation was essentially a death sentence. A large number of those soldiers understood it as well. They would rather leave their children behind alive and then march to their deaths.
If they had been forced to take the children along, it would have been seen as outright extermination, something even commoners in a feudal era would find unacceptable. And if just one voice among the 250,000 had risen to shout, "If we are going to die anyway, why not rebel?" the entire refugee army might have revolted.
Even if the government could suppress it with bloodshed, they would suffer heavy casualties, and their rule could be shaken. They knew that. That was why they spent a little money to raise those children. Compared to being overthrown, it was an easy decision.
By leaving behind a sliver of hope, the people would obediently march to their deaths.
Now, facing thousands of gazes fixed on him, Rayan took a deep breath and shouted with all his strength.
"I am a messenger from the Royal Special Corps! I have come to find the soldiers of the Wall Maria Reclamation Operation! Your mission is over. You can go back now!"
Relying on his own strength alone, there was no way he could bring everyone back to the walls. He had to unite them. In this society ruled by royalty, he had to give himself a strong identity and authority.
With this weak body, it would be useless to seek their trust. What he needed was their awe.
"Go back..."
"Special Corps?"
"The King has not forgotten us?"
Tears and cries spread through the crowd. Some people were ecstatic, others sobbed with relief, but many stared greedily at the backpack on Rayan's back.
Several unfriendly-looking men surrounded him.
"What do you want?"
Seeing their predatory gazes, Rayan had already guessed their intentions. He quickly reached behind him, took down an automatic rifle, and pointed it at them.
"We do not believe you are a soldier, you little brat!"
"What is in that bag?"
"So hungry..."
These people had no idea what Rayan was holding. They had never even seen flintlock rifles, let alone modern automatic firearms.
You cannot discuss ice with a summer insect. You cannot discuss the sea with a frog in a well.
They were fearless because they were ignorant.
"Take one more step forward, and I will execute you according to the law," Rayan said coldly.
He had already anticipated that this kind of situation would arise on his way here. In fact, he needed such a scene. Without bloodshed, there would be no deterrence.
Execute?
The group looked at each other, unconcerned, and took another step forward.
The others watched silently, not saying a word.
Rayan took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.
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