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080 The Titan of Fate
🕑 Added 2025-12-26 10:35:20 +0000 UTC"Report! Titans have been discovered in the southern area of Wall Rose!"
A report from a Garrison soldier threw the entire conference room into panic.
"What? Has Wall Rose already been breached?" the Garrison captain in charge of defending the Stohess District demanded of the reporting soldier.
The soldier's face was filled with confusion.
"Reporting, Captain, I—I don't know. The frontline report only said that Titans were discovered."
Everyone present wore shocked expressions. The few who remained calm were Erwin and Levi. Erwin calmly asked the Garrison soldier,
"Did it specify the exact location where the Titans appeared?"
"Uh, no. But the report said that the Survey Corps seems to have engaged the Titans, and a Squad Leader from the Survey Corps was seriously injured."
Erwin's face darkened. "That matches my suspicions. The Titans hiding among humans can no longer stay hidden. Nile, the Military Police must immediately act jointly with the Survey Corps! If Wall Rose falls, the Survey Corps alone won't have enough manpower. The Garrison also needs to prepare for the fall of Wall Rose."
Nile nodded, stood up, and prepared to gather the Military Police forces.
"Then I'll leave everything to the two commanders. I will be responsible for explaining the situation to the capital," the Stohess District governor said solemnly.
"Yes. Offer your hearts!" Erwin saluted, his right fist pressed to his left chest.
...
12 hours earlier, southern area of Wall Rose, Survey Corps garrison
Reiner and Bertholdt, dressed in casual clothes, stood together by the window, watching the Survey Corps members coming and going outside.
"Reiner, did Annie fail? But why is Eren missing too?" Bertholdt asked worriedly.
Reiner stared at the soldiers standing atop the garrison buildings outside.
"Something's not right, Bertholdt. We need to be careful about everything."
"So boring. Why do we have to stay here?" Jean complained irritably.
Mina held a comb and, under Ymir's envious gaze, brushed Historia's hair. Hearing Jean's words, Mina said,
"Actually, this isn't so bad. We can relax a bit—after all, we don't have to fight Titans."
"It's not that simple." Reiner and Bertholdt left the window and returned to their seats. Reiner looked serious.
Sasha and Connie sat with their heads turned in opposite directions, chatting idly back and forth.
Connie: "It's not far south from here to my home."
Sasha: "What a coincidence—north isn't far from my home either."
Connie: "Back then, everyone in my village said a short guy like me couldn't become a soldier."
Sasha: "What a coincidence—people in my village said I couldn't become a soldier either."
Connie: "Too bad they misjudged me. I'm a genius—top ten among our trainee class."
Sasha: "What a coincidence—I was top ten too."
Connie: "How about we sneak back home tonight?"
Sasha: "What a coincidence—I also… uh, no, that won't work. We'd be put in confinement and won't get any food."
Jean couldn't help saying to the two jokers, "You're so coincident—why don't you just become siblings?"
Unexpectedly, both opposed it at the same time.
"I don't want to be siblings with a glutton who only knows how to eat!"
"I don't want to be siblings with this bald-headed guy!"
"Who are you calling a glutton (bald head)?!"
Watching the two nearly come to blows, Jean covered his forehead. What a mess. Why did he have a lapse in judgment and join the Survey Corps back then? Wouldn't the Military Police have been better?
"Connie, if you really want to sneak away tonight, I could help you," Reiner said as he sat down beside Connie.
Connie scratched his head, and Reiner looked out the window.
"Don't you find it strange? Why aren't we new recruits allowed to wear uniforms or train, while the officers are fully armed? It feels like they're…" monitoring them. Reiner didn't finish the sentence.
Sasha and Connie fell silent too. Connie said lazily,
"Reiner, aren't you overthinking it? Maybe it's because there are wild boars or black bears around."
"Wild boars!!" Hearing that, Sasha's eyes lit up, instantly thinking of the barbecue she'd had before. She drooled as she sprawled over the table.
Suddenly, Sasha jumped up as if electrocuted, shouting in terror,
"Everyone! I—I just heard really strong ground vibrations, like a whole group of Titans!"
Bertholdt glanced at Reiner and said, "What? Sasha, are you joking? Where would Titans come from inside Wall Rose, unless Wall Rose has been breached?"
The other recruits looked at Sasha suspiciously. Seeing that no one believed her, Sasha hurriedly tried to explain that what she heard was real.
Outside, humanity's second-strongest soldier, Survey Corps Squad Leader Mike, stood atop the watchtower with tightly furrowed brows, looking into the distance. A cloud of dust was approaching the garrison. Mike's nostrils twitched slightly, then his expression changed.
"Nanaba! Quickly gather the new recruits. Gelgar, notify the other Survey Corps combat soldiers—five kilometers south, a large number of Titans are approaching! Wall Rose may have fallen! This signal must be transmitted—evacuate the civilians!" Mike suddenly issued orders.
Nanaba, a short-haired, valiant female Survey Corps soldier, and Gelgar, a male Survey Corps soldier with hair like a loaf of bread, both responded loudly and immediately went to notify others.
As humanity's second-strongest soldier, with the Commander and Captain absent, Mike had to stabilize the Survey Corps' deployment.
"All new recruits! Prepare to leave immediately. A large number of Titans are approaching from the south. Wall Rose has fallen. There's no time to put on equipment—mount up and leave at once!" Amid the shocked gazes of many recruits, Nanaba announced the order urgently, suspended outside the window by her Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
"What? Wall Rose has fallen?" The recruits who heard the news instantly fell into panic. "Have the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan appeared?"
Reiner and Bertholdt exchanged glances. What's going on?
After hearing that the Titans were coming from the south, Connie's expression froze.
"My home… is in the south."
...
"Warrior Captain? Sounds like a very troublesome opponent—the Beast Titan?"
Yago and Annie stood atop a tree with gas-filled Vertical Maneuvering Equipment strapped to their waists. A wide cloak concealed Annie's face, and Yago had also told Annie to temporarily stop using the Female Titan's power.
There were still enemies hidden in the shadows. If Annie exposed her power, it would be very bad for Annie's father, who was still in Marley.
"I'm saying, Annie, you could eat a bit more slowly. The way you look now, um… kind of derpy," Yago said, watching Annie stuff a roasted rabbit leg into her mouth, feeling like laughing.
With her mouth stuffed full like a hamster, Annie was actually pretty cute (think of Annie eating pie in Season Four).
Annie froze for a moment and suddenly felt that the roast meat in her hand wasn't tasty anymore.
Then Yago learned what an iron fist of love felt like.
After the joke, Yago and Annie activated their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. They had to find Eren before Reiner and Bertholdt did.
