WOOOSH—!
The violent shockwave from the Colossal Titan's appearance blasted people across the top of the wall.
Because Lillian had anticipated this, he immediately fired his ODM gear grapples into the wall and anchored himself in place.
BOOM!
Another deafening crash echoed. Lillian knew the gate had been destroyed. At the same time, he saw in the distance that the main force of the Survey Corps was already galloping back at full speed.
Good.
With the Survey Corps present, casualties would certainly be far lower — but the true key still lay with Eren.
Lillian looked over and saw that Eren, who had just been knocked off the wall by the steam blast, had already climbed back up, his face twisted with rage and hatred.
"Target: Colossal Titan!"
Erwin shouted, blade raised high, without a hint of fear or hesitation in his eyes. Beside him, Levi muttered coldly, "That bastard… really can just appear out of nowhere."
"Exactly!" Hange said quickly. "Something that huge should make tremendous noise when moving, but we heard nothing and saw nothing! The surviving Garrison soldiers from Wall Maria said the same thing — they were standing on the wall, and suddenly the Colossal Titan was right in front of them! Then after breaking the wall, it vanished again!"
"It's like it appears and disappears at will," Levi said, drawing both blades. "But I bet cutting the nape still kills it."
"Be careful, Levi," Erwin replied calmly — then dropped a bombshell. "I suspect the Colossal Titan possesses intelligence. We must treat it accordingly."
"…Intelligence."
That was the last thing anyone wanted to hear.
At that moment, Eren launched his attack — but the Colossal Titan, after releasing a massive burst of steam, vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared.
"Damn it!"
"Eren! Did you defeat the Colossal Titan?!"
"No!" Eren returned to the wall. "Just like five years ago — it appeared and disappeared in an instant!"
"Prepare for battle," Lillian said quietly.
Everyone followed his gaze — and froze.
The Survey Corps was charging toward them, and behind them surged a horde of Titans.
"It's the Survey Corps!"
"They came back so fast!"
"Damn it — the Titans are right behind them! We can't let them enter the wall!"
At this point, Garrison soldiers arrived with grim expressions.
"Hey, you cadets — the emergency operation for the Colossal Titan has begun. Return to headquarters immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
Battle could not be fought chaotically. The Garrison's duty was to conduct defensive operations once the wall was breached — that was the vanguard's responsibility.
In addition, the Garrison was responsible for guiding civilians to evacuate, mobilizing weapons and supplies, and other duties. As for Lillian and the other cadets, they were to report to headquarters and follow orders from above for combat deployment.
"Let's go."
Lillian moved first. He leapt from the wall, fired his gas, and sped toward headquarters through the air.
At this moment, the Survey Corps had already reached the wall.
"So it vanished again…" Erwin stared at the massive hole in the wall, then suddenly shouted, "All units! Hold this position and intercept the Titans! We must not let Wall Rose fall!"
"Yes, sir!"
Every Survey Corps soldier crossed onto the wall, tied up their horses, and climbed up. The Garrison's vanguard troops, seeing them arrive, were visibly relieved.
"Commander Erwin! It's a miracle you made it back in time — we could never hold off that many Titans alone!"
"Immediately set up interception nets. Bring all fixed cannons down from the wall!"
"Bring them down?!" The Garrison soldier froze in confusion. "Aren't the fixed cannons for—"
"Piecemeal fire won't change anything," Erwin cut in. "Move all the cannons behind the nets and use their weight as barricades. At least they can slow the Titans' advance."
"Y-yes, sir!"
As the soldier ran off, Erwin's expression remained grim.
Even as he ordered the defense, he knew in his heart: if they could not seal the hole, then no matter how many Survey Corps soldiers they had — even double — Trost District would eventually fall. At best, they could buy time.
And those cannons, piled up as obstacles, would not hold for long.
On top of that, the Armored Titan had not yet appeared. Would it come?
Questions swirled in his mind, but as commander he could not show even a hint of hesitation.
"Hange," he said. "Our priority isn't killing Titans — it's sealing the breach. Go to headquarters immediately, report this situation, and demand that the Garrison halt all other actions and focus entirely on hauling heavy materials to the gate. Hurry — once a large number of Titans enter the wall…"
"I understand!"
Hange turned and left at once.
"Levi."
"Yeah, I know." Levi drew both blades, eyes cold as he watched the approaching Titans. "I just have to kill as many as possible, right?"
"Yes — but be careful," Erwin replied. "The Colossal Titan may appear again."
BOOM — BOOM —
The drumbeat of destruction echoed across the district. Civilians began to flee in panic. Even without having seen Shiganshina's tragedy, they could imagine the hell that awaited them.
"Don't carry too much baggage!"
"Don't push!"
Garrison soldiers shouted themselves hoarse trying to maintain order — but under the threat of death, no one cared about discipline. Everyone scrambled forward in a desperate rush. Before any Titan even arrived, dozens were already trampled to death in the stampede.
Lillian leapt from rooftop to rooftop, taking in the chaos below.
With the Survey Corps back, many Titans could be intercepted — but if that hole was not sealed, everything would be meaningless.
The Titans were simply too numerous. Even ten Levis would not be enough.
So… in the end, it still depended on Eren?
Lillian glanced at his own hand.
I also possess… one-third of a Titan's power.
Could I lift that stone?
He immediately shook his head.
No. Impossible.
Even if he had a full Titan, it wouldn't work. His power came from an eight-meter Pure Titan — not particularly strong to begin with.
Eren's Attack Titan was fifteen meters tall, and even then he had to overdraw his strength to lift the sealing boulder, collapsing in exhaustion afterward.
If even Eren struggled like that, Lillian certainly could not do it.
---
Combat Headquarters
The Garrison detachment commander was rapidly assigning duties. The situation was too sudden and too dire — not only would the entire Garrison fight, but even freshly graduated cadets were being drafted into the operation.
However, since the cadets were inexperienced both in skill and mentality, most were assigned to middle or rear units. The vanguard — the first to engage Titans and suffer the highest casualties — was composed mainly of veteran Garrison soldiers.
After assignments, everyone began checking equipment: blades, gas canisters, belts — everything that meant life or death in battle.
"Armin, are you okay?!"
Eren's voice echoed. Lillian looked over to see Eren supporting a trembling Armin.
"I'm fine… but Eren, this is really bad," Armin said, shaking his head. "We have no technology to immediately seal an eight-meter hole — and we can't even dig out the big boulder near the front gate!"
His voice cracked with despair. "If we can't seal the breach, this entire district is lost! It means that whenever they want, Titans can wipe out creatures as weak as us!"
"Armin!" Eren grabbed his shoulders. "Calm down! Humanity isn't the same as before — the Survey Corps is already back and fighting on the wall! We will not lose to Titans again!"
"…I'm sorry."
While they spoke, Lillian finished preparing his gear and left the room.
In the open square outside headquarters, he was surprised to see Hange arguing heatedly with Captain Kitz.
"WHAT did you say?! You want all of us to abandon the fight and go move the cannons from the warehouse?!"
Kitz stared at Hange in disbelief, eyes wide. "Is this really how the Survey Corps operates? Aren't you people always the ones who insist on fighting Titans to the death?!"
"Pointless slaughter gets us nowhere!" Hange replied calmly. "Right now the priority is sealing the wall. This is Commander Erwin's order."
"Erwin has no authority over me!" Kitz shot back. "As a Garrison captain, I answer only to Commander Pixis. Our duty now is to have every soldier fight the Titans and eliminate them!"
"You're sending them to die!"
Hange grabbed the front of Kitz's uniform. Instantly, the two soldiers behind him leveled their rifles at her.
"Let go of our captain!"
Hange clenched her teeth, released him, and stared straight into his face in silence. After a moment, she suddenly gave a faint smile.
"So that's it."
"…What?"
Hange's tone turned sharp. "So Captain Kitz is nothing but a coward. Too scared to even think anymore."
Kitz froze — then exploded in rage. "What did you say?! You—"
Before he could finish, Hange had already turned and walked away.
Lillian saw the smile vanish from her face the instant her back was turned. What replaced it was a look of helpless, crushing despair.