Crack— the Armored Titan's mouth, previously covered by bony armor, was exposed. It opened wide, and a surge of steam poured out.
Opposite the Armored Titan, Yago's Fate Titan staggered to its feet from the ground. Its shattered head recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, steam constantly billowing from the wounds.
Very quickly, the Fate Titan's injuries fully healed, and its crimson eyes turned toward the Armored Titan.
Inside the nape of the Fate Titan, Yago, whose muscles were connected to its face, muttered,
"Reiner, do you still have the courage to fight?"
In the next moment, something completely beyond Yago's expectations appeared.
The Armored Titan suddenly threw back its head and let out a furious roar. The hardened bony armor on its body actually began to writhe.
Before Yago's incredulous eyes, the bone armor at the Armored Titan's joints swelled explosively, forming one ferocious spike after another. In the blink of an eye, the Armored Titan before him had turned into a "Hedgehog Titan"—but it was far from over.
The Armored Titan's forearms suddenly swelled, then split open. Gray-brown bone armor, accompanied by steam, gradually surged out from the crack openings, forming two massive shield-like blocks. Thus, the Armored Titan—its entire body covered in spikes and holding two huge bone shields—lowered its previously upturned head, golden light flashing in its eyes.
An unprecedented Armored Titan form appeared. Its ferocious appearance was filled with oppressive force. The Marleyan soldiers on the wall burst into cheers, after all, the Armored Titan that looked overwhelmingly powerful was on their side.
Inside the nape of the Fate Titan, Yago's expression was more serious than ever. Even in older Eren's memories, Yago had never seen Reiner possess such a form of the Armored Titan.
"I underestimated you, Reiner. But if you want to beat me, it's still far too early!"
"Roar!!" The Fate Titan also let out a howl and charged madly toward the Armored Titan. As it ran, even sharper white hardened bone armor covered its arms, and the white bone armor on its face grew even thicker.
"Marcel! Annie! Bertholdt! I am no longer the weak, cowardly me from before! I will prove myself!" Reiner also unleashed a frenzied roar from within the Armored Titan's nape.
Having been reinforced by the Jaw Titan's power, the Fate Titan was extremely fast. In an instant it rushed in front of the Armored Titan. The Armored Titan barely had time to raise both arms; the two bone shields closed together, forming an impregnable barrier.
Clenching its fist, the Fate Titan smashed a heavy punch straight into the Armored Titan's bone shields—bang!!—a terrifying boom rang out.
"What?" Fine cracks appeared in the hardened crystal on the Fate Titan's fist. By contrast, on the Armored Titan's closed bone shields, there was only a shallow fist mark.
Yago was somewhat shocked. That punch had been thrown with full force, and the hardening on his fist had been enhanced by the Jaw Titan's power. If it were the original Armored Titan, Yago was confident he could have punched straight through its body—but now…
Before Yago could think further, the closed bone shields opened, and the Armored Titan swung the two bone shields down at the Fate Titan.
Knowing full well how hard those bone shields were, Yago did not dare to take them head-on. Relying on his agility, he dodged the Armored Titan's attacks. Although the two bone shields were incomparably solid, they also seemed to make the Armored Titan's movements more sluggish. The Fate Titan could almost effortlessly evade the attacks.
However, the Armored Titan, covered head to toe in spikes like a hedgehog, left Yago at a loss for how to even strike back.
While the Fate Titan and the Armored Titan were locked in close combat, the Survey Corps led by Ness had also advanced to within less than five hundred meters of the wall.
The Marleyan soldiers on the wall fired wildly, and Survey Corps members were continually hit and fell.
Seeing this, Yago grew angry. He had not anticipated that the Marleyan soldiers would join the battle. Twisting his body to dodge another heavy blow from the Armored Titan, the Fate Titan rushed to the wall.
Its sharp hardened bone claws easily dug into the wall, ripping out a large mass of broken stone, which it then hurled upward with all its strength.
Of course, the rubble thrown by the Fate Titan could not compare to the Beast Titan's. The latter's stone-throwing attacks were nearly as powerful as artillery shells, while the stones thrown by the Fate Titan barely reached the top of the wall, at most giving the Marleyan soldiers a nasty bump on the head.
But the Marleyan soldiers did not know the true extent of the Fate Titan's power. Seeing large chunks of stone flying toward them, almost all the soldiers were frightened into taking cover. Instantly, the wall's firepower dropped by more than half, and the Survey Corps seized the opportunity to approach the wall and use their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to climb it.
Bang! A sweetness surged up Yago's throat, and the Fate Titan was smashed flying by the Armored Titan—slammed away by a slab—no, a shield.
Looking at the Fate Titan half-kneeling on the ground, the Armored Titan opened its faceplate, vented a mouthful of steam, and then its massive body began accelerating toward the Fate Titan. Its unstoppable momentum was like that of a charging war chariot.
"Reiner! A sneak attack? Damn it!" Yago was truly furious.
The crimson glow in the Fate Titan's eyes was more chilling than ever. With a thunderous crash, it rose from the ground, showing no intention of dodging at all, charging straight at the Armored Titan.
...
As mentioned before, besides being a ship captain, Koris was also an outstanding sniper. With a Mauser rifle in hand, within an eight-hundred-meter range, Koris could achieve a hundred hits out of a hundred shots.
At this moment, Koris was half-crouched atop the wooden crate carried by the Cart Titan, frowning as he observed the battle through binoculars. The duel between the two giant Titans secretly astonished him, and the ordinary Titans summoned by the Beast Titan around them made Koris feel uneasy, reminding him of some unpleasant past events.
"Don't underestimate the power of the Spear of Marley!" The Beast Titan beside him struck a baseball pitching stance—except what it held was not a baseball, but chunks of rock that, once thrown, were as terrifyingly powerful as cannon fire.
Just before the Beast Titan was about to hurl the rocks, Koris turned around and shouted,
"Careful! There's movement behind us!"
A sniper's keen senses and intuition made Koris realize something was wrong.
The Beast Titan and the Cart Titan froze for a moment, then turned their heads.
The ground seemed to tremble slightly. One small black dot after another appeared on the horizon. Looking closely, it was yet another massive charge of the Wings of Freedom.
"Soldiers! Advance!"
Commander Erwin's stirring voice rang out from the very front of the formation. Following their commander's charge, the Survey Corps drew their blades and let out furious roars.
Seeing the Survey Corps rapidly closing in from behind, the Beast Titan was somewhat shocked. The distance was not very great—meaning these soldiers had been lying in ambush here all along. How was that possible?