Chapter 58

This chapter is a large one with 4,000 words, so I'm asking for your support, recommendations, and all kinds of praise!

...

The commander of the Military Police Brigade, a leader of one of the military units, was actually slapped in front of countless people by a mere trainee. It was like having a bucket of shit dumped on his head, and the humiliation was something that not only Nair Deker himself but even the Military Police present could not bear.

But what could they do if they couldn't bear it? Attack? Protest?

Don't be ridiculous. If protests were effective, those merchants wouldn't have died. If attacks were effective, that Military Police wouldn't have lost all his teeth. Even the renowned strongest human, Levi, couldn't defeat Tang Cheng. What could they do? Even if they fired their guns without hesitation, not to mention whether they could kill Tang Cheng, if they accidentally killed Darius, the crime of killing the highest commander of humanity was something they couldn't afford to bear.

So, even if they couldn't bear it, they had to swallow the humiliation.

After slapping Nair Deker away, Tang Cheng's gaze turned to the priest Nick of the Church of the Walls.

Nick's face immediately turned pale, and he trembled as he said, "Y-You... What do you want to do? I am a believer in God. If you dare to lay a hand on me, the great God will definitely... definitely not let you off!"

Although he spoke loudly, everyone could hear the fear in his voice. Tang Cheng didn't mind and smiled kindly, "Don't worry, I won't hit you or kill you. I just want to tell you that I might come to find you soon. I hope you can prepare yourself mentally. As for the reason, I think you know."

"You..." Nick's face changed, and his eyes avoided Tang Cheng's.

"Of course, according to my arrangements, I won't come to find you for at least a month, so you have plenty of time to prepare. If you don't want me to come, then resist," Tang Cheng suggested enthusiastically. "Whether it's assassination, poisoning, stabbing, surrounding, or framing... whatever means you can think of, you can use them. I'll be waiting with a clean neck. Even if you can make me feel a tiny bit of threat, I'll be very happy."

Nick was so scared that he couldn't speak.

After putting pressure on him, Tang Cheng ignored Nick and suddenly had a bright apple in his hand, as if by magic. He ate it while speaking, "You might be wondering why I'm doing this. Actually, I just want to tell you that I'm very strong, stronger than everyone here, including Eren. Of course, some of you won't care because you have power, money, and status. So, a powerless soldier like me is nothing to you. Therefore... I'm using actions to tell you that you are nothing to me."

Tang Cheng's gaze swept over the Military Police, the merchants, and even the pale-faced royal family members, and he smiled lightly. Then, in a few quick steps, he was behind a royal, placing the half-eaten apple in front of him, pressing his hands on the royal's shoulders, and looking forward, "Actually, I prefer killing Titans to causing trouble here. It's very meaningful to me, so I plan to join the Survey Corps and hunt Titans outside. I want to ask... will you oppose me?"

When he said the last sentence, his gaze was already on the royal family members.

These royals, who were used to living in luxury, were terrified by Tang Cheng, a ruthless killer. They couldn't even think of opposing him and nodded instinctively, "O-Of course not."

"Great, I like your straightforwardness. So, will you agree if I take Eren?"

"A-Agree!"

"Awesome, you're indeed a reasonable noble. I really want to kiss you, but unfortunately, I don't do that." Tang Cheng smiled, patted the royal's head, and walked to the center of the meeting room, spreading his arms.

"The noble lords have agreed to my request, but I'm a democratic person, so I want to hear everyone's opinions. If anyone disagrees, feel free to attack me. If you can kill me, then everything is up to you. But... if you can't kill me..."

As he spoke, Tang Cheng's eyes turned sharp, and the previously friendly gaze became like a hawk's, emitting a terrifying aura, "If you can't kill me, everyone who attacks me today will die, including your parents, wives, children, friends, and all those related to you... whether it's a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand, all of them will die!"

"Come on, I've put my life on the line. Do you dare to bet with me? Show me your courage, come on, shoot me!"

Tang Cheng stood there, spreading his arms, and even closed his eyes.

But no one fired a shot.

Even those who hated Tang Cheng to the bone and wanted to kill him immediately didn't fire.

Because of fear.

Whether it was eating an apple or talking to the royals, these actions were not just whims but deliberate actions to instill... intimidation!

Humans are always afraid of the unknown, and Tang Cheng's previous actions were full of unknowns. Combined with his demonstrated strength, repelling Levi and catching bullets with his bare hands... could they really kill such a person with their abilities and weapons?

If they killed him, it would be fine, but if they didn't, their entire families would die!

They didn't doubt the truth of Tang Cheng's words because he was a madman, and madmen can do anything. But they weren't madmen! They couldn't risk their families' lives for an unpredictable possibility!

Moreover, the more daring Tang Cheng was, the more they feared him. After all, no one in their right mind would seek death. Since Tang Cheng dared to let the hostages go and let them shoot, it meant he was confident he would survive.

A minute passed, and no one fired. Tang Cheng smiled, walked to Eren, and removed his handcuffs, then patted the stunned teenager, "You're free."

When Tang Cheng pulled Eren up, a Military Police instinctively aimed his gun at them, but Tang Cheng just turned and glared at him, scaring the Military Police so much that he dropped his gun. Tang Cheng laughed and threw Eren to Mikasa.

"Do you want to leave just like that?" At this moment, a steady voice sounded.

Darius Zakrey.

"Oh, Mr. President, do you have any objections?" Tang Cheng asked with a smile.

"I am the sole judge of this hearing. Without my consent, you have no right to leave. You claim to be democratic and asked everyone's opinion, but you haven't asked mine," Darius said. Unlike others, he spoke to Tang Cheng without any fear or unease, just a simple statement.

Tang Cheng smiled, "I see. But I've always heard that Mr. President is a person who knows how to weigh the pros and cons. I don't think you would want everyone here to die because of your wrong decision, right?"

Darius's fingers tapped the table. He understood that although Tang Cheng was threatening him on the surface, he was actually giving him a way out... If he stopped Tang Cheng from leaving, Tang Cheng would kill everyone. If he let him go, Tang Cheng wouldn't act. So, letting him go wasn't because he was powerless to stop him, but because he was considering the lives of those present.

"Mr. President..." A royal looked at him with a pale face.

"Prince Sig, please be at ease." Darius nodded to the royal and then turned to Tang Cheng, "Your goal is just to join the Survey Corps and fight Titans on the front lines?"

"Of course not. I also hope the Chamber of Commerce will donate all their stockpiled food and supplies to our front-line soldiers. I hope the Military Police will join the Survey Corps' operations and help us fight Titans under our command. I also hope... hehe." As he spoke, Tang Cheng noticed many people's expressions changing and laughed, "Of course, I know these are impossible, so I didn't mention them."

"Smith, what do you think?" Darius looked at the Survey Corps commander.

Before Erwin could speak, Nair Deker pointed at him and asked, "Erwin, do you really want to accept them into the Survey Corps?"

Erwin's gaze swept over Tang Cheng and Eren, then looked at Nair Deker and nodded, "Yes, if they have the intention, the Survey Corps will accept them."

"Even if they are murderers and monsters?"

"That's right. As long as they have the strength to defeat Titans and help humanity reclaim Wall Maria, their identities are irrelevant."

"You..."

Nair Deker was so angry he couldn't speak. At this moment, he showed some courage, but in reality, he had already seen that as long as they didn't push too hard, Tang Cheng wouldn't escalate things to an uncontrollable level. At least from the fact that the four people Tang Cheng killed were merchants, he didn't want to truly oppose the military.

Although killing people during a hearing had a huge impact, merchants had no political status. As long as the military and the royal family suppressed it, the matter could be minimized. From his perspective, the Supreme Commander Darius had likely already made his choice.

Darius was a politician who could sacrifice many things for the benefit of humanity.

So, as the commander of the Military Police Brigade, even if resistance was futile, he had to protest a little to save face. As for Tang Cheng, since his goal was achieved, he wouldn't cause more trouble.

Indeed, with the situation largely settled, a few objections didn't matter to Tang Cheng. Although the Military Police needed to be eliminated for his plan, it wasn't now. He needed to give them a grand funeral fitting their status.

From the beginning, Tang Cheng knew that whether it was Erwin or Darius, they only cared about the overall benefit of humanity, not the lives of a few individuals. Compared to the deaths of a few merchants, the value of Tang Cheng and Eren was more important. Whether to maintain discipline and oppose Tang Cheng or to let him join the Survey Corps to fight Titans, smart people could see which choice was more beneficial.

Moreover, the main combatants in the military, such as Erwin, Darius, and Pixis, were dissatisfied with the current weakness and conservatism of the royal family but had no legitimate reason to change it. Tang Cheng's actions, although extreme, provided an opportunity.

Thus, under the pretext of the safety of the royal family, Darius suppressed the matter. He pretended to be helpless but actually smoothed the way for Tang Cheng. The Military Police had no objections, the royals just wanted to go home, and the merchants... no matter how rich they were, they didn't dare to oppose the military leadership.

What should have been an unforgivable crime ended with a surprisingly peaceful resolution, which many people found incomprehensible and even unbelievable.

And no one knew that shortly after the hearing, Darius, Pixis, Erwin, Levi, and Tang Cheng had a secret meeting.

The content of the meeting was known only to the five of them.

After the meeting, Tang Cheng became a member of the Survey Corps as he wished, and a faint smile appeared on his face because... everything went as he had predicted.

"Main Task 2: Join the Survey Corps. Task completed, no reward."

"Main Task 3: Eliminate the threat of the three Titans within fifty days. When the threat of the three Titans is completely eliminated, the challenger will return to the cycle space. Task completion reward: 1500 survival points, one D-level cycle card."

"This main task is shared by all challengers in the current scenario."

"Note: Do not kill the three Titans when they are in human form, otherwise, each kill will deduct 1000 survival points. If the challenger returns to the cycle space with negative survival points, the challenger will be eliminated."

"Hidden Special Side Task 'New Era of Humanity' triggered: Before completing Main Task 3, overthrow the current human political system and establish a new human nation. Task reward varies based on completion. This task is exclusive to Challenger 9527 and is a free task. If the hidden task is not completed before Main Task 3, the task will be canceled with no penalty."

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