"We have to stop them."
Armin, Ian, and the other members of Team Third all look in the distance at the figures of the Armored and Female Titans.
"We really can't take a break, huh?" A soldier says.
"Sigh, this is a really bizarre day."
"Yeah, I miss those days where I could slack off, playing cards, having drinks, and spending my days bossing around my juniors."
"Hey, at least be mindful of what you are saying; can't you see the captain glaring at you?"
"What—you know I may die at any moment, so at least let me say what is in my heart, and look, the captain doesn't mind me; otherwise he would have already shouted at me."
"Enough."
Ian silences the banter of his subordinates.
"Prepare yourselves; we are going to face these two guys." Pointing at the Armored and Female Titans, Ian continues, "They are surely going to be troublesome, so have your full focus on the matter at hand, and don't try to die easily."
With that said, everyone prepares themselves, knowing they are directly going to face another situation where they may die at any moment; they steel their hearts.
Whoosh
Soon their team moves in the direction of Annie and Armored Titan, who stand together in the distance.
Whoosh
Whoosh
Looking at the group of soldiers moving towards them, both Annie and Reiner ready themselves to face them.
Armin swiftly crosses the distance and dodges the swing from the Armored Titan; a soldier behind him quickly moves at the unguarded nape, tightly gripping his blade, the soldier swings, followed by a dull sound.
The soldier and Armin both look in surprise at the blade, which chips at its edges.
The soldier feels like he has struck a stone, making him unable to cut.
The Armored Titan, noticing the chance, quickly send a backhanded strike at the shocked soldier.
Thump
The broken body of the soldier flies through the air, smashes inside a building, with no breath left in him.
Fear appears in Armin's eyes; the next moment he hurriedly dodges another strike from the Armored Titan and tries to counterattack. Similarly, when he strikes at the arm of the Titan, the blade doesn't even pierce its skin.
On the other hand, the sharp edge of Armin's blade becomes dull, like the blade has been repeatedly swung at a metal pole.
Looking at the incoming hand of the Armored Titan, the already alert Armin quickly dodges the strike and creates distance between him and the Armored Titan.
Reiner, inside the nape of the Armored Titan, looks at Armin with a frown. 'Armin, why do you have to come in my way?' Reiner feels somewhat troubled facing Armin, although his will doesn't waver, but still, if the situation allowed, he wouldn't want to fight with Armin.
Having spent so many years with them, through training and eating together, he has knowingly formed a comrade bond with them, so when faced with their supposed friends, Reiner still hesitates for a moment.
"Everyone be alert!" Armin's loud voice reaches everyone's ear.
"These titans also have some special abilities; approach them with caution."
His warning quickly puts everyone on alert, following which they do not rashly attack them but continues to harass and gauge them.
Armin, standing on a rooftop, looks at the Armored Titan, carefully studying it.
Whoosh
A figure lands by his side.
Huff
Huff
Taking deep breaths, Ian looks tiredly at both the Female and Armored Titans.
"Have you found something?" He tentatively asks Armin.
"Yes, sir." Armin replies confidently, "Both of these Titans have unique abilities. The Armored Titan—"pointing at it, Armin said, "This one has a stronger defense; our blades can't cut through its skin, and the Female Titan seems to have superb agility and much more combat awareness." Saying that, Armin takes a moment and then continues.
"Sir, if we continue to engage both of them, I don't think we will be able to stop any of them." Armin shares his worries with Ian.
"Then, what do you suggest?" Ian carefully looks at Armin, knowing how he had played a massive role in taking down the Colossal Titan. Since then, Ian has advised and listened to his suggestion, finding that he has a sharp mind.
"We should quickly take out one of them." Armin says, watching how the soldiers divided into groups struggle to survive against the Armored and Female Titans.
"For the Armored Titan, we don't have an immediate solution, so we should focus on the Female Titan. Taking her out with lightning speed, we can then deal with a single Armored Titan."
"Good, then let's not delay any longer; the team members are barely surviving."
With that said, both Armin and Ian join the squad facing the Female Titan.
Ian silently signals to everyone, conveying the plan to others; he takes the lead and intensifies the charge at the Female Titan.
Annie looks at the sudden intensifying charge of the soldiers, as they seem to have thrown caution to the wind and all charge at her from multiple angles.
Annie's cold gaze quietly lands on Armin, understanding the reason behind their sudden onslaught.
With multiple soldiers moving at her from different directions, she can't deal with every one of them; not having another choice, she quickly places her hand over her nape.
The soldiers, finding the unguarded spot, quickly move and give multiple slashes, almost severing her hand.
Seeing the situation turning dangerous, Annie removes her hand from her nape and swats at the soldier, who dodges at the last moment.
Now, looking at the unprotected nape of the Female Titan, a group of two soldiers instantly moves; with blades drawn, they instantly slice at her nape, hoping to finish her, but at the last moment before the blade strikes, a hardened layer starts forming on the Female Titan's nape.
So when the blade strikes, their sharp edges instantly chip.
Everyone looks in disbelief at this scene.
Annie, having baited them, quickly takes advantage of the situation and strikes at the two soldiers, who can't escape on time.
Sharing the same fate, both of them get hammered; their crushed bodies fall down.
Everyone looks in fear at what had happened, heaviness falling on their hearts.
With three of the soldiers down, the ten-man squad gets reduced to seven, with four of their team members engaging the Armored Titan, and now two getting killed by the Female Titan; only four soldiers remain attacking the Female Titan.
Annie lets out a cold snort, the destroyed part of her Titan body healing and regenerating, while the soldiers, Armin and others, pant tiredly, the gas in their ODM gear dwindling almost empty.
'How can we deal with them?' Armin thinks, feeling troubled, as there doesn't seem to be a way to deal with these two Titans.