"Is that… Miche?"
Seeing the figure slaughtering Titans with abandon, Sawano Kawa's expression turned extremely grim. He hated everyone—especially those with talent, those "favored by the heavens." In his mind, their strength existed only because the world was unfair.
Even now, he still hadn't mastered the omni-directional mobility gear.
Back in the capital, he had easily coerced a noble into getting him a set. But after just thirty minutes of training, he found it too exhausting and gave up.
Later, when he was hunted by Kenny, he tried to cram practice at the last minute—only to injure himself badly with the gear, leaving him bedridden for half a month. Before he could fully recover, he fled from Wall Sina to Wall Rose to recuperate.
It could be said he was both unlucky and utterly useless.
"Just die already—every last one of you!" Sawano Kawa sneered viciously. Once he returned to Marley, he swore he would push for a full-scale invasion.
"You worthless trash—just stay here. Your Annie is probably being ravaged senseless in bed by that Huaxia guy right now, you pathetic piece of garbage!"
He spat, dispelled Bertolt's invisibility, and walked toward the gate alone.
"Huaxia guy…? Annie… whose bed? What do you mean, Sawano Kawa?!" Bertolt panicked the moment he heard Annie's name.
Who could it be? Chen Si?
Am I really useless?
Thoughts of his family, of Annie, and of always being ignored by others flooded his mind. Sawano Kawa's insults seemed to stitch together something broken inside him.
Bertolt's expression slowly twisted.
"You forced me to do this!"
"What's that smell? Erwin! There's a Titan scent at the gate!" Miche sniffed the air and shouted.
"Huh? Miche, are you mistaken? There's nothing down there. What, are there miniature Titans now—gah!" Oluo laughed, only to bite his tongue again.
Petra shot him an exasperated look.
"Maybe it's the mass death of Titans—the scent spread to the gate area. There are Titans everywhere right now, so it's not strange," Hange analyzed, adjusting her glasses.
"No… it's very strong," Miche said, staring uneasily toward the gate.
"I see. Everyone, fall back twenty meters. Prepare for contact. If nothing happens, we advance!" Erwin immediately ordered. He trusted Miche's sense of smell—it had been proven countless times in battle.
Because of Miche, they had avoided numerous Titan ambushes.
"The Titans on this side are cleared. I'll go regroup with the Captain," Petra said, turning to leave.
Erwin nodded.
"Woohoo!"
A figure wrapped in lightning crashed straight down from the sky, slamming into the ground and shattering it.
"Enemy attack!" Miche shouted, drawing his blades.
"Wait!" Erwin narrowed his eyes, scanning through the dust.
Chen Si slowly stepped out of the smoke.
"A human?!" Petra exclaimed.
"What?!—ah!" Oluo's mouth bled again.
"Falling from nearly fifteen meters and shattering the ground without a scratch… his physical ability is extraordinary. A perfect test subject!" Hange shouted excitedly.
"May I ask who you are?" Erwin said, clearly impressed.
"No need for formalities, Commander Erwin. I'm a recruit from the 104th Training Corps… formerly ranked first," Chen Si replied, giving the salute with solemn respect.
Erwin returned the salute.
A recruit…?
"Formerly ranked first? Were you stripped of your title for misconduct?" Hange immediately picked up on the implication.
"Haha… something like that," Chen Si scratched his head awkwardly.
"Excellent! We love troublemakers in the Survey Corps! Join us!" Hange slapped his back enthusiastically, already imagining experiments.
"Commander, that lightning around him earlier—you didn't see it? There's something off about him," Gunther said cautiously.
"It's fine. If he participated in the Trost operation, someone has already vetted him," Erwin replied calmly. He understood that powerful soldiers often came with complications—and if Chen Si stood here, then Pixis must have already handled it.
"Wait! Isn't there someone at the gate?" Hange suddenly noticed.
Chen Si's pupils shrank as he turned.
In the distance, a figure was beginning to glow with yellow lightning.
Erwin's eyes trembled.
This…!
"Not good! Everyone, fall back!" Chen Si shouted.
He launched into the air like a bolt of lightning, rushing straight at Bertolt and slashing at him.
"Danger! It's a Titan! Everyone retreat!" Erwin roared.
But Bertolt had already transformed into a blinding pillar of light.
"Damn it!"
Chen Si's heart raced. If the explosion happened here, the elite of the Survey Corps—including the command staff—would all be killed. Even part of the residential district near Wall Rose would be incinerated.
Worse—Carla was stationed nearby.
Lightning engulfed Chen Si's entire body. Bolts surged skyward as a massive pillar of energy enveloped him. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed all his power, rapidly wrapping Bertolt within it.
"This guy… is he a god?!" Hange stared in shock.
Erwin saw something else in Chen Si—he glimpsed truth… and the future.
"BOOM—!"
An earth-shattering explosion erupted.
The immense shockwave blasted the retreating Survey Corps off their feet, and a large section of Wall Rose shattered.
Fortunately, the command staff had already descended from the wall to prepare the next phase and welcome the returning soldiers.
The devastating shockwave surged through the broken gate into the city, collapsing several buildings and causing casualties.
Then—
Above the wall, a colossal figure rose once more, blotting out the sky.
The Colossal Titan.
Fear once again spread among the people within the walls.