Chapter 14

The appearance of the Colossal Titan was sudden.

The only ones with the will to fight against the Colossal Titan were the members of the fixed artillery 4th squad. Among them, Eren was the only one truly ready.

Of course, the current Eren was still unaware of his own power and couldn't prevent the Colossal Titan from breaking through the gate.

Therefore, the garrison regiment decided to conduct a joint operation with the training corps.

The defense of Trost District.

The objectives were the evacuation of civilians and intercepting the Titans.

To achieve this, Commander Pixis called the training corps together.

Standing next to Pixis were Captain Hannes and Kitz.

With the two captains of the Southern Garrison Regiment standing side by side, the trainees felt immense pressure from Pixis.

"Attention! Listen carefully. Just a few minutes ago, the entrance to Trost District was breached by the Colossal Titan."

All the trainees listened intently to Pixis's shout.

They all knew that the wall had been breached by the Colossal Titan.

"The history of despair brought by the Titans may be repeating itself! If we are pushed back again, this time, we might all die!"

Therefore, Pixis's voice, made by expelling all the air from his lungs, hit the ears of the trainees to the very last person.

So that the trainees wouldn't be distracted. So they could focus on his words and fight accordingly. All the trainees were absorbed in Pixis's words.

"But we can't just stand still. For the past five years, humanity has prepared its forces to counter the attacks of the Colossal Titan."

Beyond the wall, the sounds of artillery fire could be heard from Trost District. These sounds, coming from various places, were only from the 'fixed artillery' on the walls.

The sound of fixed artillery, placed on the walls of Trost District in preparation for the Titan's attack, drowned out Pixis's words. But despite this, the trainees could clearly hear Pixis's voice.

"Therefore, from now on, you will participate in the defense of Trost District. Understood!"

Had they vaguely realized it? Everyone's faces darkened at the news that they would be participating in the defense of Trost District.

Of course, this didn't mean sending the inexperienced trainees to the front lines.

The garrison regiment would take the lead. The role of the training corps was to support the front lines from the center and lead the evacuation of civilians.

Under the command of the garrison regiment, the soldiers of the training corps were all deployed inside Trost District. Repeating their central role over and over again, the trainees prioritized the evacuation of civilians.

That is, if things went as planned.

"What... what is this?!"

The 36th squad of the training corps, led by Christa and composed of Connie and Ymir, was now supposed to descend from the wall.

But the 36th squad couldn't seem to descend from the wall.

It wasn't because of any malfunction in their maneuvering gear. They simply lost the will to descend after witnessing the scene below.

"Is that... is that a Titan?!"

"...Crazy."

Connie and Ymir couldn't hide their shock at what was happening inside Trost District. The garrison regiment, who should have been fighting on the front lines, was nowhere to be seen. To be precise, they were 'annihilated.'

The front lines were completely broken through, and near the center of Trost District, Titans with mouths stained with bright red blood were devouring the trainees who were supposed to be helping with the evacuation. The dying screams of the trainees echoed like hallucinations in Christa's ears.

"..."

In the face of a one-sided massacre, Christa's pupils trembled. How could they fight against such Titans? Even Christa, who had diligently trained for three years and ranked in the top ten, felt her fighting spirit wane in the presence of the overwhelming Titans.

If they stayed like this, they would end up aimlessly lingering in the rear. Forcing himself to move forward, Connie clenched his sword and took another step forward. His entire body screamed to stay put, but he continued to move forward, thinking of his friends fighting below. He didn't want to be a coward who ran away. Just as he was about to descend from the wall...

"Hey! Are you out of your mind?!"

"We can't just retreat! Others are fighting down there!"

Ymir tried to stop Connie, who then snapped back at her. Eren, Jean, and Mikasa were fighting down there! Connie was determined to fight even if it meant going alone.

Ymir, realizing Connie's determination, clicked her tongue. This idiot, does he want to die? She thought even Mikasa wouldn't be able to withstand such a massacre but didn't say it out loud.

"Ugh, I don't care anymore... Christa, should we just run away together?"

"Ymir... let's fight with Connie. If the three of us fight together...!"

"Don't be ridiculous. You saw it too, right? That scene. Can we even escape if a Titan pulls on our maneuvering gear lines?"

"But..."

As Ymir said, the garrison regiment and the training corps had never practiced fighting real Titans.

Even the Survey Corps, experts in killing Titans, suffered casualties every time they faced them. The trainees, who had never experienced life-or-death combat, couldn't even imagine Titans pulling on their lines.

That's why Ymir was trying to stop them.

Just as Connie and Ymir were about to start a physical fight, a girl climbed up the stairs on the wall and approached them.

"Phew, I finally made it up."

Having not climbed stairs in a long time, Nike was already out of breath. She vowed to exercise more in the future and approached Christa's group standing on the wall.

The group seemed frozen in place by the horrific scene unfolding in the city.

'Well, I'd be scared too if I saw that.'

Nike was also a bit scared of the Titans. But she had more important things to worry about.

[Number of people eaten by Titans: 49,262 / 50,000]

The number indicated by the status window was steadily increasing.

If things continued like this, in a few hours... no, in the worst case, within a few minutes, Nike would certainly face femininity corruption.

And whatever that mysterious 'mm' was, she would experience it too. The thought sent chills down her spine.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

"What are you doing here? You're not even a combatant."

Nike decided to use Christa's group to loosen up a bit and spoke to them. Connie responded, making Nike feel slightly annoyed. Did he think she didn't use maneuvering gear because she didn't want to? Determined to master maneuvering gear one day and show Connie, Nike continued speaking.

"I'm heading to the headquarters to provide support. What about you guys?"

"We don't want to go, so you can go alone."

Ever pragmatic and individualistic, Ymir already treated Nike as a dead person. Nike didn't care much about that.

'Avoiding femininity corruption is more important than arguing. Maybe I should ask someone else...'

"Ymir! That's too harsh on the supply officer!"

Christa was different. She told Ymir to apologize for being rude. When Ymir refused, Christa approached Nike.

"Huh? Wait, what?!"

"If that's the case, I'll go alone!"

Christa lifted Nike in a princess carry. Ranking in the top ten of the training corps wasn't just for show.

Christa thought Nike was lighter than she seemed and believed they could reach the headquarters in the center of Trost District.

So, with Nike in her arms, Christa began descending the wall using maneuvering gear.

Ymir and Connie watched as Christa anchored her gear to the wall and ran down with Nike.

"Damn it... that sneaky cat..."

Ymir, feeling annoyed at losing Christa's attention, gritted her teeth and followed them.

Connie, left alone, tried to make sense of the situation and, feeling somewhat relieved, followed them down the wall.

Thus, Christa's group began flying toward the headquarters.

Leading the group with a gap between them were Christa and Nike. Nike, still in Christa's arms, looked around.

Fortunately, being in the rear meant they hadn't encountered any Titans yet.

"By the way, Nike! Why are you going to the headquarters?"

Since they were still in a relatively safe area, Christa asked Nike.

Nike briefly recalled the original story. Why did so many trainees die? The answer was obvious.

"That's because, of course..."

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