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043 The Titan of Fate
🕑 Added 2025-12-25 12:11:33 +0000 UTCYago and Ilse were walking across the plaza when Yago said,
"Time really flies. They're about to start recruiting the next batch of trainees already. Oh right, Ilse, did you remember that Titan model just now? The support rods underneath are about to break—remember to report it for repairs."
Ilse nodded. "Don't worry, I remember—"
Before he could finish, the two of them simultaneously felt a violent tremor. Yago seemed to sense something, steadied himself, and turned his head to look.
Behind the towering walls of Trost District, a yellow bolt of lightning surged forth as if it pierced heaven and earth.
Yago's pupils shrank. "This is—!" They weren't far from the wall and could still vaguely make out human figures atop it.
That yellow lightning—Yago instinctively felt that something was terribly wrong!
Sure enough, as the lightning dispersed and smoke billowed, an enormous crimson head appeared above the wall. In an instant, everything fell silent.
Ilse, along with the surrounding pedestrians, all stared dumbfounded at the gigantic head on the wall. The Colossal Titan—has arrived!
"T-that… what is that?" Ilse's eyes were vacant, his voice hoarse.
"So this is the Colossal Titan?" Yago clenched his fists. An inexplicable trace of excitement stirred in his mind. That yellow lightning was something Yago knew all too well. He could almost be certain—the Colossal Titan was transformed from a human!
"The wall! The wall is broken!! Titans! The Titans are coming in!!" A man wearing a hat suddenly let out a piercing scream, pointing toward the distant wall.
From what the eye could see, the distant gate had already been destroyed. This proved that Trost District was now just as dangerous as Shiganshina District had been back then.
...
On top of the wall, Eren stared blankly at the Colossal Titan right in front of him. Before Eren could react, the Colossal Titan swung its massive arm and swept it toward the fixed cannons on the wall. Before its absolute power, the fixed cannons were crushed and flung away like marshmallows.
Relying on his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, Eren rapidly pulled away, dodging the Titan's arm.
"This bastard! It can even destroy fixed cannons? Damn it—he must be intelligent!"
The next moment, without a second thought, Eren drew his twin blades and charged straight at the Colossal Titan. The grappling hooks of his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment shot out and firmly latched onto the Titan's body as Eren sped toward the back of its neck.
On the wall, Eren's companions cried out in alarm, "Eren! Be careful!"
"Die already!" Eren roared, but an enormous amount of steam suddenly erupted from the Colossal Titan's back. The steam was scalding hot, yet it couldn't stop Eren's resolve. Bracing himself against the heat, he was just about to surge forward when suddenly his body felt light, and he dropped straight downward.
Looking again, the towering Colossal Titan had completely vanished, leaving behind only two gigantic footprints. Eren hurriedly fired his grappling hooks to secure himself to the wall, his face full of disbelief. How could the Colossal Titan just disappear?
...
Bang! Bang! In the sky inside the walls, signal flares appeared—the assembly signal of the Training Corps. All trainees who saw the signal immediately gathered at the supply station where it was fired!
On this day, humanity once again remembered the fear of being dominated by Titans.
The warning bells echoed throughout the city.
The entire Trost District fell into chaos. Unlike previous drills, everything was in disarray. Everyone was fleeing for their lives. When real danger arrived, no one obeyed order. The Garrison soldiers did their best to maintain control, but in the face of civilians whose only thought was escape, they seemed somewhat powerless.
On the walls of Trost District, the dozen or so surviving cannons continued to fire. Titans were steadily converging toward the breach in the wall. The massive explosions only drew in more Titans. There was no longer time to repair the wall. The Colossal Titan seemed to have attracted countless ordinary Titans, surging endlessly toward the opening.
The original plan had been to excavate a massive boulder near the gate to plug the breach, but the Titans gathered far too quickly. They could only hurriedly set up two layers of rope nets for defense, and the hole destroyed by the Colossal Titan was simply too large—nearly ten meters tall.
The Garrison's advance unit had already reached the wall. Over fifty soldiers looked at the dozens of Titans before the breach, unable to hide the fear on their faces. But tens of thousands of civilians inside the wall had yet to evacuate—they could not retreat.
The squad leader at the front encouraged his subordinates.
"Soldiers! We must not let these disgusting Titans enter the wall! We cannot let the tragedy of five years ago happen again! We will protect the civilians! Dedicate your hearts! Charge!"
Even though the squad leader himself was trembling so badly he could barely hold his blade, he was still the first to leap down from the wall and rush toward the Titans.
The other members of the Garrison's advance unit roared and followed, throwing themselves down as well, using their lives to block the Titans.
...
Inside the supply station, chaos reigned as well. Over two hundred trainees were in a frenzy, fear etched on every face to varying degrees. Urged on by Garrison officers, they hurriedly assembled their equipment.
Yago quickly put on his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and filled the gas tanks. His face was full of worry. He wasn't too concerned about his home situation for now—after all, a year ago, Lucia and Aunt Carla had moved inside Wall Rose. But Yago feared that just like five years ago, after the Colossal Titan appeared, the Armored Titan would appear as well. If Wall Rose were breached again, then everything would truly be over.
The Garrison officer continued his speech nonstop.
"Trainees, you have successfully graduated and are now qualified soldiers! The people inside the walls need you now! Cooperate with the Garrison—we must protect this city!"
But few of the new soldiers present were calm. They had never faced real Titans before. Panic, fear, confusion—every kind of negative emotion could be seen on the trainees' faces.
The trainee Franz comforted his panicking girlfriend in his arms. Armin's hands trembled nonstop; no matter what he did, he couldn't connect the gas hose to the canister. Eren stood beside him, trying to calm Armin down, while Mikasa stayed glued to Eren's side, never leaving him.
"All personnel! Assemble on the first level immediately according to class assignments!" A Garrison soldier rushed over in a panic to announce the order. All trainees immediately hurried to the first level.
After the trainees assembled, a Garrison commander stepped onto the platform. Yago recognized him—he had run into him earlier that day while checking equipment. Kitz Weilman, the overall commander of the Trost District Garrison, a man with a full beard.
At this moment, Kitz's face was dark as he loudly announced the orders to the trainees below.
"The Training Corps will be divided into squads according to training regulations and will cooperate with the Garrison to defend the city. The Garrison will handle command. The Training Corps squads will support the Garrison: the Vanguard Squad will handle the front line, the Supply Squad the midline, and the Rearguard Squad the rear. In addition, according to frontline intelligence, the advance unit has been completely wiped out, and Titans have already entered Trost District!"
Kitz's words caused an uproar among the trainees. The Titans had already entered the city?
"Silence! Pay attention—there may be an Armored Titan appearing inside the city at any time, and it is very likely to breach Wall Rose. Therefore, your mission is to hold Wall Rose at all costs until all civilians have evacuated! Remember, deserters will be sentenced to death! I hope you understand, gentlemen. Be ready at all times to give your lives! Dismissed!"
With that, Kitz stepped down, his expression grim.
The trainees immediately sprang into frantic motion—those donning equipment did so, those looking for people searched for them. Some, overwhelmed by tension, lay on the ground vomiting; others, paralyzed by fear, crouched in corners and cried. Yago frowned and moved through the crowd, searching for Annie. At last, he found Class 27, where Annie was, at a corner.
