Lord Balto stared at the chess board with great amusement. His soul soared at the sight of victory; he could not believe he had just won against Commander Dot Pixis!

"How can you be in charge of the cities defense if you can't win a simple chess game?! I am honestly fearing for my safety right now!" Balto laughed with arrogance.

Was this truly the capacity of the almighty Commander Pixis? What a joke, he thought. Pixis chuckled with embarrassment, "I am no where near your level at this game" he admitted.

"Shouldn't you be worried Pixis? With that head of yours, you will put the entire southern region in danger" the Lord cackled. Of course he wouldn't mind joking about peoples lives, mainly because he didn't care about the south region, or any region for that matter, he only cared for his territory and his life.

The Lord brusquely grasped the glass of wine and gulped it down noisily. Little did he know, that his luxury time would end soon.

"Commander Pixis!" A Garrison soldier, one of Pixis' squad, bursted into the room. He gave no notice towards the Lord and directed himself to his superior.

"What do you think-"

"The Colossal Titan appeared at Trost! It has destroyed the wall! With nothing to block the whole, titans are pouring in!"

The intensity of the news was soon followed by the breaking of the Lord's glass of wine.

Balto was terrified. His body felt numb. The walls weren't strong enough to protect them.

Then what would be able to protect him?!

"Pixis! Stay!"

"I order you to protect me! Protect my life and my territory! Get your squad together and bring them here!"

Pixis stood up. He grabbed the bottle of wine located on the table next to them, after all, he and his team would be needing their fair share of alcohol for the nerves.

"Are you asking me to stay here while my comrades are giving up their lives out there?" he asked with a casual tone.

"Who cares about those worthless lives! I'll give you anything if you stay!"

The commander ignored Lord Balto's desperate calls and started walking out the room, hand still holding the wine bottle.

"Prepare the horses" Pixis called out. The squad member saluted his commander, "Yes sir!" she exclaimed before she headed out.

"Pixis! It won't make any difference whether or not you're out there! How can you defend an entire legion when you lose simple chess games! JUST STAY HERE DAMMIT!"

"With all due respect my Lord, I find no need to put any effort in your little board games"

"Why you little-" Lord Balto's blood was boiling. How dare he go against his orders! "Well it doesn't matter anyway" he called out, "I have my own personal guard! And her skills with her 3DMG are uncomparable!"

Pixis stopped walking when he heard Balto screaming a name.

"ROESIA!"

The commander raised an eyebrow when he cast a glance to the girl that was running towards them. She had a fragile body, small and thin, her small height looked awkward with the 3D gear strapped to her body.

Pixis' eyes narrowed at her sight. It wasn't the white skin or the white silverish colored hair that bothered him, it was her trembling body that unsettled him. She looked terrified, and as if her shaking form wasn't enough, her eyes wouldn't stop darting from face to face, almost as if they were predators waiting for the right moment to attack her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Pixis questioned, "She isn't wearing the official uniform of a guard. Only graduated soldiers are permitted to have the 3D gear" Once the girl was next to them, she directed her eyes to Lord Balto, silently awaiting for his orders.

"No, she didn't graduate from any squad, in fact, she hadn't ever been close to a 3D gear until I gave her one" Balto eyed Pixis with arrogance "it was meant to be for pure entertainment, but she ended up being a genius! Who would have thought that the little slave that I bought would be such a prodigy!" he roughly grasped the girl's shoulders and slightly shook her as he bragged blatantly ignoring her loud whimpers.

The Lord smiled with triumph "You refuse to stay? Well who cared! I don't need you! Or your squad!" he cackled.

Commander Pixis smirked, this Lord was very stupid, he thought. "So you purchased a human?" he mused. "From the underground market I suppose" he briefly looked at the trembling girl, Roesia, according to the name Barto had screamed.

The object of the conversation herself, stood there looking unsure. and very scared.

"Should we arrest him Commander?" a squad member asked stepping forward.

"What?! You cant! You can't arrest me! I'm a Lord!" Balto screeched. Any sense of control was lost on him.

"Why shouldn't I?" Pixis stared at him, with a look of disgust in his face, "this girl standing in front of me, is showing all the signs of abuse, a girl who you clearly called 'slave' " he walked closer to the girl and gently place a hand on her still trembling back, and started steering her away.

Balto stared around with fear and confusion "What are you doing Pixis!"

The commander glanced over his shoulder. "You are officially under arrest Lord Balto, for not only abusing a human being but for also being art of human trafficking" he kept on walking while softly pushing the girl along with him. No words were spoken between them as they made their way to the carriage.

"Roesia, right?" The girls' head snapped towards the bald man that had saved her from the Lord. She gave him a diminute nod. "What's your last name?" Pixis asked, but wasn't really shocked when she told him she didn't have one.

The underground market mostly sold children ranging from ages 5 to 12, the older they were, the harder it would be to train them, which buyers didn't like. If a kid wasn't purchased, they were disposed of, after all, there would be no one to take care of them.

After being purchased and being under the control of their 'master' for years, they eventually forget their last name due to the lack of its use. A slave has no surname because they were seen as pets, and pets only have their name.

"How old were you when Lord Balto bought you?"

Roesia sat up straight but made sure to keep her eyes on the carriages floor. "Eight, I-I think"

Pixis nodded absentmindedly. "And how old are you know?"

"T-Twenty three?"

Fifteen years of a horrible life with that fat lord? Wonder how fucked up her mind is by now, the commander thought.

Pixis just sat there, staring at her for a couple of minutes thinking deeply. "Despite Lord Balto being an insolent man, he talked about your skills with the maneuver gear". Roesia glanced at him with confusion.

"He never talks about other people, just about himself. Which leads me to believe that your ability with the gear may be just as great as he said it was"

Pixis narrowed his eyes at her. "We are currently heading towards Trost District; as you heard, it has been invaded by titans, do you think you can aid our soldiers and defend the people? We need as much help as we can get" he added. His face didn't betray any emotion as he awaited a response.

"But you don't know how good I am!" Roesia choked for a second, "how can I defend our people?!"

"Look at it this way, if you don't do it, we will just leave you on the streets, chances are, you won't make it out there" Dot Pixis hummed while he assessed her.

"Now, If you do help us… yes, you might die, but if you survive, the military will give you food and a place to stay"