CHAPTER - 9 { I Alone Am Enough }

Boom!

The last titan which had managed to come near the headquarters building fell down heavily on the ground.

"Fuck."

Vlad leaned on the wall and gritted his teeth. Just a few moments ago, he barely escaped death.

What happened was that the man tried to kill the last titan by himself which was obviously a failure.

It caused the titan to be enraged as it wreaked havoc on the surrounding areas.

Many houses and apartments were destroyed while the roads were filled with debris and a layer of dust.

The man cried out in fear as he finally got caught by the titan, the woman tried to interfere to save him but led to getting caught herself.

Vlad swung to the titan and cut the fingers off from the hand which had the woman while he moved quickly towards the man.

Sensing that its food was being taken away, the titan gave Vlad its complete attention.

And so, Vlad was slammed by the huge palm of the titan. He was sent through a wall resulting in a few bone injuries.

The man was eaten while the woman was terrified and stood like a statue watching everything closely.

Vlad didn't let pain consume him as he stood up and killed the titan.

"Ahge!"

Vlad pulled his inner t-shirt up and looked at his ribs on the right side.

Many blood spots formed, it was like bruises with purple color around it. Many small veins were surfacing up on the skin.

"Damn it!"

It's internal bleeding. This type of medical condition is called Purpura, often happens if blood accumulates due to some injury.

The smaller ones were nothing to worry about but the one which was the biggest had to be treated immediately.

"Fucking bitch! Hey, come here!"

Vlad called the stunned woman. Getting her to do the necessary medications was a better idea than dealing with it himself.

"Cut here, not too deep. Just enough to let all the blood flow out."

Vlad handed the woman a small dagger as he pointed towards the biggest blood spot.

"I-I, stay still."

The woman wiped her eyes and gritted her teeth trying to forget what had happened a few moments ago forcefully.

"Hm."

When he was ready, Vlad nodded his head. The woman cut a long line in his skin near the upper ribs.

"Ahhge!"

Vlad gritted his teeth in pain, his eyes were bloodshot. The cut needed was very long and the woman was doing it slowly.

"I will now press it. It will hurt even more."

The woman informed Vlad about what she was going to do, for him to be prepared.

"Mm."

With his eyes closed, Vlad nodded. The woman first lightly pressed the skin area near the blood spot.

"Ahhge!"

Vlad screamed in agony but didn't let his body move. The woman then further increased the pressure.

Very soon all the dirty blood flowed out. And just to be sure, the woman cut in to let fresh blood flow out.

This way, the cut wounds would heal faster.

Covering his ribs with a long clean cloth, Vlad inserted his t-shirt back in.

"Get inside the headquarters building. It's dangerous to stay out now."

Vlad told the woman in a serious voice. His eyes gazed towards the rearguard area.

Many screams and shouts could be heard. The cries were even louder.

The woman gave the titan who ate the man one last look before she headed inside the headquarters building.

"How long will it take for the civilians to evacuate? It's already been more than five hours."

Vlad pondered whether to go and check the process of the evacuation.

But he shook his head and followed behind the woman. The headquarters was where he is needed the most right now.

"What? There's titans in the gas chambers?"

There was shock in Vlad's voice. He looked at the soldier in front of him with a frown.

This newly graduated soldier was one of the cadets he had talked to once in the training camp.

"Let me see."

Vlad hurried towards the underground gas chambers together with the woman and the soldier.

As it was reported, there were eight 7-meter tall titans moving around the chambers.

"We lost seven soldiers when we were trying to retreat."

The soldier said with a grave face. Vlad's face was turning even more ugly.

"How the hell do these kinds of people pass the training camp?"

Muttered Vlad in an inaudible voice which wasn't heard by the woman and soldier.

Near the lift, tens of soldiers were contemplating their future. Fear, discouragement and despair were written on their faces.

They seem to have abandoned the possibility of killing all the titans inside the chambers and retaking it.

"Get up! What the hell are you all doing?"

Vlad shouted attracting their attention for a moment but the very next they turned away.

"Who is incharge of the supply group?"

Asked Vlad with an angry face. But no one was responding to him.

"They were the seniors but all of them left to support the rearguard in helping the civilians evacuate."

As soon as Vlad heard it from the soldier, he immediately slammed his fist on the metal wall.

"Bastards!"

Cursed Vlad. He then calmed down and sighed. Somehow, he could understand what these soldiers were feeling.

"I might be the best soldier, but I am not the best leader. If only Armin or Reiner were here."

When it came to gathering people, those two were the best in this year's cadets.

"Listen. If no one supplies gas to the vanguards, how will they fight the titans? Won't they all be going to their own death that way?"

Said Vlad. Suddenly, one of the soldiers stood up and walked to him.

"How can we kill these monsters! I am not crazy! If I had known that being a soldier is this, I would have never become one! Let the vanguard die! But I won't!"

This soldier, a cadet in his batch, Marway Piston, grabbed Vlad's collar and shouted, releasing his frustration.

Vlad stared at Marway with indifferent expression, in his eyes, this soldier was a complete coward.

"Ah!"

Vlad picked Marway up by his neck. He then threw him on the hard floor with full strength.

All the soldiers watched this happen without interfering. The woman and the soldier panicked seeing Vlad fight.

"Stay down. Or, die."

Vlad stood with his cold eyes staring down on Marway who was trying to get up from the floor.

When Marway met Vlad's eyes this time, he could feel that Vlad wasn't telling a joke and he was very serious.

Gritting his teeth, Marway didn't resist and stayed on the floor as Vlad ordered.

"All of you. I will say it now so that no one can speak back to me later. I am heading down there, if you want to come then follow."

Vlad stepped on the lift and turned back to observe the soldiers actions. None stood up as he had expected.

"And once I get in there, after my return, I will personally beat each one of you down. Until you beg me to stop."

Saying so, Vlad jumped on the lift's railing with his emotional face.

"Hwaa!"

The titans roared as Vlad started falling down from the lift with his back towards the titans.

One can say that he was asking for death. But Vlad was determined and certain about his victory.