"Yago! Are you ready?" Hange shouted loudly, cupping both hands around her mouth.
On the open ground in the distance, Yago waved his hand to signal that he was ready.
After waving, Yago took a deep breath, his left hand clenched into a fist. His sharp fingernails immediately cut into the skin of his palm, and a drop of blood seeped out.
Boom! Surging yellow electric arcs instantly enveloped Yago's body.
The momentum before the transformation into a Titan kicked up clouds of dust across the ground. Blood, sinew, and bones continuously emerged from within the yellow electric arcs, accompanied by large amounts of steam.
Although Hange was standing far away, the excited flush on her face could still be seen under the dazzling yellow light. Hange shouted without any concern for her image:
"Amazing!! Hahahaha, that's incredible! So this is the power of a Titan!"
"Squad Leader! Calm down, the purpose of this test isn't the Titan! Squad Leader, don't get it wrong!"
Moblit beside Hange took one look at his own Squad Leader staring at the Titan with a crazed expression and knew that, nine times out of ten, she had forgotten what they were here to do.
"Oh! Right, right, right! Thunder Spears! We're here to test the Thunder Spears! Where are the Thunder Spears??" Hange wiped the drool from her mouth, finally remembering the task at hand.
She fumbled about and picked up several sticks from the ground that looked like long water pipes.
"Roar!!" As they were talking, Yago's Fate Titan had already appeared on the open ground, roaring.
Inside the nape, Yago willed it with a thought.
Crack, crack—large chunks of hardened crystal began to cover the Fate Titan's nape and back.
A layer of white armor also covered the Fate Titan's ferocious visage, leaving only two pairs of crimson eyes exposed.
The Titan raised its arms, accompanied by another series of crackling sounds as its arms, too, were covered with a layer of hardened crystal.
It could be said that Yago had already activated the Fate Titan's strongest defensive posture.
With both arms shielding its face, the Fate Titan hunched forward, looking every bit like it was bracing itself with utmost caution.
"Alright! Mikasa, go!" Hange said energetically to Mikasa beside her.
Fully equipped with Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, Mikasa nodded. Unlike before, there was now a strange device on both of her arms.
From the original sword-hilt position extended a bracer-like apparatus. On the bracer were two circular metal rings, and the long tube that Hange had just called a Thunder Spear was fixed within these two rings.
Whoosh! The Vertical Maneuvering Equipment activated. Mikasa launched forward, rapidly closing the distance to the Fate Titan.
"Look! Mikasa is getting close to Yago!" Armin pointed up at the sky.
On the other side of the open ground were the onlooking new recruits and the entire Levi Squad.
Levi stood with his arms crossed, looking listless.
Eren and Historia were not there. Eren was at another testing site, testing the hardening ability he had just obtained, while Historia was busy preparing for the coronation ceremony.
Swish! Moments later, Mikasa flew to the back of the Fate Titan.
"Such speed!" Inside the nape, Yago couldn't help but marvel slightly at Mikasa's speed, then immediately tensed his body, because what he was about to face next was extremely terrifying.
Hovering behind the Fate Titan, Mikasa aimed at its nape and pulled a new trigger on the sword hilt.
Hiss! Sparks suddenly ignited at the rear end of the Thunder Spear tube on Mikasa's arm, like a rocket being launched. Mikasa made a powerful throwing motion with her arm, and with a sharp whoosh, the Thunder Spear shot off from her arm straight toward the Fate Titan's nape.
With the same motion, the other Thunder Spear on her arm also howled toward the Fate Titan's nape. Upon closer inspection, two thin wires could faintly be seen connecting from Mikasa's wrists to the Thunder Spears.
The instant the Thunder Spears made contact with the Fate Titan, Mikasa yanked hard, snapping the wires.
Boom! Boom! Terrifying explosions rang out.
Even Yago, who had already prepared himself, was greatly shocked.
In older Eren's memories, he had already seen this kind of weapon before. Originally, Yago thought he already had a sense of the Thunder Spear's power. But when the Thunder Spears actually exploded at the Fate Titan's nape, Yago realized that he had still underestimated their destructive force.
It was like having a huge pot of boiling water suddenly poured over his neck.
To those watching from the outside, two massive orange-yellow fireballs erupted from the Fate Titan's nape. The Fate Titan let out a roar, but the sound carried an especially mournful tone.
Rumble! The Fate Titan dropped directly to one knee, and the crimson light in its eyes dimmed.
As the smoke cleared, everyone was stunned.
The hardened parts of the Fate Titan were scorched black, and much of the hardening on its arms had shattered.
Several cracks had appeared on the white face armor. A chunk around the mouth area had broken away entirely, exposing rows of grim teeth, with wisps of steam seeping out from the Fate Titan's mouth.
"This… the power is a bit beyond my expectations…" Hange was clearly shocked as well. Logically speaking, Yago's defense was even tougher than the Armored Titan's. If even Yago could only barely withstand it, then this weapon designed specifically to deal with the Armored Titan could be considered an overwhelming success!
"The Military Police really hid this deeply. They had such technology but refused to contribute it, letting so many soldiers die for nothing…" A hint of gloom appeared on Hange's face.
As a Squad Leader of the Survey Corps, Hange now clearly understood the Thunder Spear's power. Used for subjugating Titans, it would definitely be a powerful weapon, yet the Military Police had kept this technology buried away.
Yago was in rather sorry shape now. He climbed out from the Titan's nape, both arms severely burned over a large area. His face was smeared red with blood, and blood seeped from his nose and mouth—internal injuries caused by the shock of the explosions.
Seeing Yago in such a miserable state made everyone worry, especially Annie. If looks could kill, Mikasa would have already been cut into a thousand pieces by Annie's gaze.
Mikasa looked innocent. She hadn't known the Thunder Spears were this powerful either. At the same time, she felt a bit relieved, because at first Hange had suggested letting Eren, who could harden his entire body, test them instead. Truly a stroke of luck.
"It's fine, these are just minor injuries. I'm fine." Yago wasn't lying. For someone with the power of a Titan, this level of damage really wasn't a big deal.
"Hey! Everyone assemble! Historia wants to see you all!" Moblit shouted toward the new recruits. As for Hange, she was already nowhere to be seen.