A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

edited on march 12th, 2022 @ 12:06pm

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝚃𝚈,
𝓡𝚄𝙻𝙴𝚁 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚂.

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The true King within the walls... Rod Reiss and his devious schemes were foiled. The Scouts succeeded in rescuing Eren and Historia. However... appearing before them was... Rod Reiss, transformed into a Titan.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU thinking, Erwin?!" The Garrison soldier now held Erwin by his collar, shouting in his face. "Keep the citizens in the city without evacuating?! By the time it's dawn, that Titan will be all over us!"

Erwin made no response nor flinched at his words. "If they were to evacuate then they would all be cluttered together and would most likely be attacked. That's what Erwin is trying to avoid, you brainless idiot." Simon thinks to himself, crossing his arms as he scoffed.

Hange placed their non-injured arm on the table. "That Titan is an Abnormal." They informed as the soldier looked in their direction.

"What the hell does that even mean?!" He exclaimed, his eye twitching.

"The target Titan is strangely attached to high concentrations of people. Hence, Abnormal. It means the fellow will turn a blind eye to a small village, ignoring it in favor of reaching this fortified city. If right now, you were to evacuate the citizens within Wall Sina, it would be drawn towards them, destroying the wall and all in its path. In the end, it would reach Mitras, with the greatest density of people... and deliver a devastating blow to humanity. On the way back, we attempted to use Eren Yeager's power to control Titans, but... Rod Reiss' Titan showed no reaction." Hange explained.

The Scouts were still trailing next to the Titan, Eren stood up and raised his fists towards it. "Stop, Titan!" He ordered. This gave no reaction, causing Eren to get frustrated.

"Hey, stop! I'm talking to you! Can't you hear me, idiot?! Rod Reiss, that means you! You tiny old man!" Eren shouted, but paused realizing Levi was behind him.

"Now, now, that's just embarrassing, Eren. You've gone and dug yourself an early grave. Say, Levi. How does it feel to have a husband who's taller than you?" Simon smugly asked as Levi turned around to glare at him.

The Garrison soldier Erwin's collar, who had turned to him. "If we are to stop that Titan, we must do so outside of the walls of Orvud District. For that to happen, we must have the citizens act as bait. However, this does not change the fact that our duty as soldiers is to protect the citizens. Supposing we're unable to halt the target, we'll take measures so that not a single citizen is killed. We'll announce an emergency evacuation drill for Orvud District, so that if needed, the citizens will be ready to evacuate at once." Erwin explained.

The soldier narrowed his eyes at Erwin's words before glancing up at him. "It seems there's no other choice..." He said.

"The body of our target is the largest we've seen. As such, it presents an easy target. Wall-mounted cannons should prove highly effective, but... If that's not enough to bring it down..." Erwin trailed off before looking towards Eren. "The Scout Regiment will throw everything we have at it."

Simon hummed as he thought of something. "Erwin, I may just have thought of an idea that could help us defeat that Titan." He spoke up, causing everyone in the room to look at him.

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Dawn quickly came as the soldiers stood on top with the cannons ready. Right in front of their eyes was Rod Reiss' Titan who got closer and closer by the second.

The order was to set off multiple cannons towards the Titan, causing smoke to rise into the air after every blow, after the last one hit, everyone stood and waited.

"Well, how's that..?" Erwin questioned.

"They're hitting his back area. In order for this to work, they need to reach his nape." Simon responded.

There were also Garrison soldiers at the bottom of the wall with cannons and they saw the Titan still move.

"Fire!" A soldier shouted as they fired the cannons.

"The ground cannons seem even less effective." Erwin continued.

"Of course they are. The wall cannons barely hit the nape, even with the better angle. What's the problem?" Levi questioned.

"It's a mishmash of soldiers... Cannons they scraped together... Superficial leadership... To top it off, this is a northern region. Unlike troops on the front lines, they have no battle experience. However, this is the best we're going to get, and that's a fact." Erwin answered.

"Yeah, that much is painfully obvious." Levi agreed. "Yet again, your strategy for the Scouts boils down to another gamble. Just like everything else you conjure up."

"Simon! I brought the goodies!" Hange called out as the three looked over to see multiple barrels and a net underneath them. "All the gunpowder, ropes, and netting I could find! We'll have to assemble it ourselves though. Oh, and this! There's another on the opposite side. The trigger's held in place, so when it's fired, it'll wind itself back up, just like ODM gear." Hange turned to Simon and Levi who stood behind them. "So, is the artillery doing any damage?"

Levi looked away. "Slightly more than a pissing insect." He replied.

"The hits aren't doing much either. Whatever we throw at it, it gets back up like nothing happened." Simon adds on.

"Then we're really planning on using this?" Hange asked. "I mean, that brain of yours has helped us in sticky situations, Simon, but will this work?" They only received a shrug in response.

"Levi, Jean, Sasha, Connie... Take care of that side." Erwin told them.

"Roger!" They all responded as they went over towards where Erwin ordered them to go.

"How should we do this? Let's see..." Hange mumbled as Simon stood next to them.

"Well, we could try stacking them on top of each other." Simon suggested.

Hange nodded in agreement. "Try to imagine we're wrapping up a nice gift for someone special..." They added.

Another round of cannons was shot off towards the crawling Titan which developed holes around him somehow. But it was most likely from the cannons.

"Yeah, stack it up on the edge." Hange told Mikasa before walking away.

An eruption of Rod Reiss' Titan moving its head over the wall. Half of its face was gone due to dragging itself on the ground, the organs that was in its torso fell out and landed on top of the wall which fell down the wall, blood splattering underneath it.

"Titan!"

"Wait! Don't go anywhere!"

"Shut up!"

The citizens of Orvud District started running away, scared of the Titan that was twice the size of the Colossal Titan.

"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!" The Garrison commander ordered.

"Shit... It's breaking through... The city I grew up in... is done for." The Garrison commander was suddenly startled when Levi grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Stand back, Captain. We'll take over from here." Levi informed.

"Eren, we're up." Armin told Eren.

"Right." Eren said.

Armin began walking away from Eren. "Armin, another thing's different from then." Eren spoke up.

"Eh?"

"It might not be all they hoped for, but now... humanity has an ace up its sleeve." Eren finished.

Everyone stood back as Eren bites his hand, transforming him into his Titan form. The bright beam shattered the sky as the brightness lit up the town below. Eren let's out a roar as he was fully transformed.

Rod Reiss' Titan was blown into bits, flying in the sky and towards the town below.

"All troops! Finish it off with ODM gear!" Erwin shouted.

The Scouts used their ODM gear to fly up towards the bits of the flesh and started slicing them.

Simon slashed his blade across one of the pieces of flying flesh, successfully tearing it apart.

"Hot!" Connie said.

"Shit! Which is it?!" Jean cursed.

Simon then saw Historia. "Historia?!" Jean exclaimed.

A huge chunk of Titan flesh was heading towards the ground. "I'm sorry for being so selfish. But this is the first time I've gone against my parents... This is my first fight... with my father." Historia thinks to herself as she swings her blade at the large Titan chunk. She widened her eyes as she saw Rod Reiss's memories.

Historia then fell to the ground onto a wagon as the citizens surrounded her.

"Was our city just saved?"

"Hey... you okay?"

"Are you injured?"

"Were you the one who dealt the finishing blow?"

"Was that all... my imagination? Am I... really... acting on my own accord?" Historia thought as she sat up. "I... don't know. But..." She then stands up. "The one always going with the flow is... without a doubt, me."

"I am... I am Historia Reiss. The true ruler of the walls." Historia addressed the crowd that formed around her.

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Somewhere else, Conner was panting as he kneeled down in front of a tree.

"Conner... They already have my successor lined up to inherit the Crystallized Titan... But I can't... I can't give it to them! Please... I need to give it to our eldest, Simon. Once he devours me... Wait until he's old enough to know the truth. Then, escape to Paradis Island and keep him and Sean safe. You have to!"

"Mya..." Conner thinks to himself, remembering his late wife.

"Conner."

Conner looked up to see his eldest son looking at him with a deadpan expression. Oliver was next to him, pointing a rifle at him.

"It's only you..." Conner coughed, blood splattering in the process.

"Your comrades we fought... They all ended up getting crushed. Levi is dealing with Kenny as we speak." Simon informed, before looking towards Oliver. "I got this covered. Report back."

"Yes, sir." Oliver replied as he rushed off.

Simon turned back to Conner. "With those burns plus the blood loss... there's no helping you now." He stated.

"Way to point out the obvious..." Conner mumbled. "What do you want? Come to finish me off?"

"I'm not that heartless. As much as my comrades make me to be." Simon replied. "You're going to answer a few questions that I have for you."

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A/N: Another chapter is finished! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 1724 words.