Its fifteen-meter body was packed with solid muscle, covered in layers of hardened stone like armor. No mouth was visible on its face; something thick and heavy covered it.
The Garrison soldiers panicked at the sight of this Titan unlike any they had ever seen.
Boom! The Armored Titan suddenly charged toward Wall Maria's gate at incredible speed.
"Fire!!" The commanding Garrison officer was so tense that his voice cracked.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Powerful explosive shells hurtled toward the Armored Titan. Shells that could normally punch through several Titans struck him without leaving so much as a scratch.
"Reload, quickly!" the officer ordered urgently. "There's no time! That Titan is too fast! Run!" The Garrison soldiers fled in panic.
Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, the Armored Titan smashed a massive breach through Wall Maria, which had protected humanity for over a hundred years.
"I've never seen that Titan before!"
"Wall Maria... has been breached..." Armin stared blankly at Wall Maria. The ferry had already left the harbor, and everyone aboard silently watched the direction of Shiganshina.
Even Wall Maria had been destroyed. Humanity was in danger.
"Damn it, it hurts!" Yago clutched his forehead in agony. His head had inexplicably begun throbbing again, as though something were trying to force its way out.
"Yago, what's wrong? Is it an internal injury?" Lucia asked with concern. She clearly remembered seeing a rock strike him, yet he seemed completely unharmed.
Yago had told her that the rock had not actually hit him that hard. It had been caught by the bricks in the wall, leaving him with only a minor internal injury.
"I'm fine." Yago shook his head and looked toward Shiganshina as well. In the distance, he could faintly make out countless Titan silhouettes slowly pouring through Wall Maria. Humanity had lost its first line of defense. Perhaps one day, Wall Rose and Wall Sheena would also be breached.
Yago clenched his fists. He did not know why he could turn into a Titan, but now that he had this power, he would use it to protect everything!
Shiganshina had become hell on earth. Titans rampaged through the district while those lucky enough to survive trembled among the ruined walls. Countless Titans wandered about. Every so often, they discovered someone, and a scream of utter terror rang out, followed by the horrific sound of chewing.
Click! The Garrison Regiment's commander in Shiganshina snapped off his broken blade and gazed in despair at the hell before him.
Hiss! Hiss! Several bursts from Omni-Directional Mobility Gear sounded nearby. His subordinates had arrived, almost all of them wounded.
People had always looked down on the Garrison Regiment. Its soldiers were neither as elite as the Military Police Brigade nor as courageous as the Survey Corps, but in this crisis, countless Garrison soldiers had given their lives to buy civilians time to evacuate.
Garrison soldiers' lives mattered too, and they had held out long enough. Of the more than a hundred Garrison soldiers in Shiganshina, nearly two-thirds had fallen, and fewer than thirty remained alive.
"Reporting, sir! There are too many Titans! Veya Squad, Dodge Squad, and Sot Squad have been wiped out! Pica Squad has only three soldiers left!"
"Fili Squad has been wiped out too!"
The commander's face was ashen, and his voice trembled. "Wall Maria has been breached. Give the order. Everyone, retreat!"
"Yes, sir!"
The remaining Garrison Regiment soldiers in Shiganshina saw the retreat signal and immediately fled for their lives. There were too many Titans. If they stayed any longer, they would surely die.
"I'm joining the Survey Corps! I'll drive every last one of those Titans out! One day, we'll take back our home!" Eren declared loudly to Mikasa and Armin. "Eren..." Mikasa froze, momentarily at a loss for words.
Carla, who had always opposed Eren joining the Survey Corps, wanted to say something but remained silent. Perhaps parents ought to respect their children's goals.
Eren's words seemed to breathe a little life into the despairing crowd aboard the ferry. If even a child this young could show such courage, did that not make the adults seem cowardly?
"Hey, Mikasa, Armin, how about we join the Survey Corps together?" Eren looked hopefully at his friends. Mikasa agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Eren, wherever you go, I'll go!"
Armin hesitated. He was still rather timid. Joining the Survey Corps-could he really do something like that? He sank into deep self-doubt.
"Joining the Survey Corps? Count me in, Eren." A familiar voice sounded beside him, and Eren turned around. "Yago?"
Yago asked with a smile, "Surprised? Uncle Vig used to be a squad leader in the Survey Corps. Once I join, I'm going to become a squad leader too. Who knows? I might end up being your superior, Eren."
"We'll see who becomes a squad leader!"
Lucia looked at Yago, and for a moment, she almost thought she saw Vig. Back then, Vig had been just as optimistic as Yago.
He had always been saying, "Our Survey Corps will win for sure. When that day comes, we won't need the walls to defend us from Titans anymore. We'll be able to live in a world without Titans!"
Time passed quickly. With Wall Maria breached, the territory within it was no longer safe.
The ferry headed straight for humanity's second line of defense, Wall Rose!
The ferry reached Trost District, outside Wall Rose, where large numbers of civilians fleeing the territory within Wall Maria had already gathered.
Garrison Regiment soldiers in uniforms bearing rose emblems maintained order and distributed food.
Yago received a completely cold potato and half a piece of bread, but he was so hungry that he could not afford to be picky.
As he ate, Eren suddenly got into an argument with a Garrison soldier handing out food. It began when Eren heard the soldier say that saving these refugees was a waste of food and that they might as well let the Titans eat them all.
At that, Eren's blood boiled, and he immediately struck the Garrison soldier hard.
"You little brat! You've got a death wish!" Humiliated and furious, the soldier swung a fist at Eren. Mikasa immediately moved to shield him.
Smack. The soldier's hand was caught in a firm grip. It was Yago, and he squeezed hard.
"Ah! You damned brat! Let go!" The soldier was nearly in tears from the pain. Where had this little brat gotten so much strength?
Yago flung the soldier's hand aside. "Picking on children? Some soldier you are!"
"You!"
Armin stepped forward to smooth things over. "I'm very sorry. My friends are just too hungry and got a little worked up. I'm sorry for the trouble they've caused you."
Eren's mother also came over on crutches and apologized to the Garrison soldier. He could hardly keep arguing with a child. Just my rotten luck, he thought, then grumbled, "These brats don't know how to be grateful." He turned and left, casting one last glance at Yago. That boy really was strong.
Aunt Carla sighed. "Eren, you can't be so impulsive from now on."
Eren was still indignant. "They don't know anything! They've never seen Titans devouring people! What gives them the right to say things like that? I'm definitely joining the Survey Corps. One day, I'll return to Wall Maria and kill all those Titans! I won't live like you, penned inside the walls like livestock!"
The more Eren spoke, the more agitated he became, and his words grew increasingly extreme. Smack! Pain flashed across his cheek, leaving a clear handprint on his face.
Eren froze and looked at his mother. Carla sternly scolded him. "Eren! How could you say that? Mikasa is a girl, and Armin and Yago are your friends. Apologize to them right now!"
Eren lowered his head, apparently realizing that his words had been out of line. "I'm sorry, Mikasa, Yago, and Armin. I shouldn't have said that about you..."
"It's okay."
Before you continue