"Woooaaahhh!"
The Beast Titan raised his arms and roared as the Female Titan and Jaw Titan charged. Steam exploded around the two of them, and suddenly, a dozen Titans over 15 meters tall appeared, surrounding them.
An ambush?
Lillian hadn't expected this. The figure he had seen in the Forest of Giant Trees must have been from across the sea… likely the fast-moving Cart Titan.
Lillian knew little about this Titan, except that it was a support type with great carrying capacity, capable of transporting heavy loads quickly. Steel fortresses could be built on its back, mounted with machine guns. Essentially, it could serve as both transport and mobile fortress.
Most importantly, its transformation consumed minimal stamina. Lillian remembered the Cart Titan maintaining Titan form for two whole months once—something other intelligent Titans couldn't do, even while idle.
Yet for Lillian, the Cart Titan was not the main threat. His focus remained on the Beast Titan, Zeke Yeager.
"Leave this to me."
Lillian told Annie, then leapt toward a 15-meter Titan charging at them. Its massive hand swiped at him, but he sliced it cleanly with his scythe. Using the arm as a stepping point, Lillian propelled forward at a speed so fast that before the Titan could react, its neck had been severed.
Thud!!
The enormous body collapsed, Lillian landing beside it. He looked down at the grass.
These Titans hadn't appeared by accident. Those injected with Zeke's spinal fluid had been strategically placed here, controlled using a "partial Coordinate" once they entered the trap—an attempt at a perfect ambush.
Yet Zeke's plan was futile. Annie accelerated, and a front Titan tried to grab her but was smashed in the head by her hardened fist. Ymir's small frame allowed her to slip between two Titans with ease, racing toward the wall.
Neither worried about Lillian being surrounded by Pure Titans. They knew his strength well. The greater threat was the Beast Titan atop the wall, hurling massive rocks.
"Oh, so you really did betray us, Annie."
Roar!
The Jaw Titan leapt onto the wall, snapping at the Beast Titan's head. The latter swung its massive arm, precisely crushing the Jaw Titan and sending it flying, plummeting down the wall.
"Ymir!"
Inside the Female Titan, Annie gritted her teeth. She knew the Warrior Chief's terrifying skill. Even in a previous drill with Reiner, she had been utterly defeated. But now… there was no turning back.
She bent her legs, ready to leap onto the wall—but a figure jumped down from above first!
Reiner?
"Annie… what the hell are you doing?!" Reiner shouted midair, transforming instantly. The Armored Titan appeared, swinging a massive fist downward with the momentum of his fall. It struck the Female Titan's arms, which she had instinctively raised to block.
Crack—!
Her arms shattered instantly, and the Female Titan was flung backward, staggering a dozen steps before finally stopping.
"Annie!"
Ymir, who had fallen to the ground, leapt up and rushed toward Reiner. She had once teamed with Eren against him, and knew his power well. If she didn't destroy the armor on him first, Annie would have no chance against him!
But after only a couple of steps, Ymir heard fast footsteps beside her.
Thud!
A collision followed. The Jaw Titan staggered back, looking up to see it had collided with a strange, quadrupedal Titan clad in steel armor. Judging by its interception of her, it was clearly not a normal Titan.
"An intelligent Titan!"
Ymir immediately confirmed it, growing tense. Three intelligent Titans were now on the field, while their side only had two… it would have to rely on "shortie."
She focused on the Cart Titan before her.
You bastard, I'll tear you apart!
She lunged forward, but the Cart Titan was incredibly agile. Clearly aware of the Jaw Titan's powerful bite, it deftly avoided her mouth. The two nimble Titans quickly became locked in a tense struggle.
Meanwhile, Lillian had already eliminated all the Pure Titans. Assessing the situation, he immediately sprinted toward the wall.
The 3v3 was unfolding—each had their own opponent.
Watching from above, Zeke's mind was shaken.
The speed, strength, and jumping ability… far beyond human limits. At first, like other Marleyan officers, he had doubted Reiner's report: that a human could defeat the Armored Titan in a fistfight? Preposterous! But now… he saw the truth. Such a human did exist.
"Interesting."
Zeke's curiosity surged. How had Lillian's body become like this? Could it be scientifically replicated?
While he pondered, Lillian had already scaled the wall and reached him. No words—he swung his scythe.
"Whoa!"
The Beast Titan stepped back, raising his hand.
"Don't be in such a hurry, Lillian."
"…"
Lillian paused mid-motion. "What?"
"You… are you really part of the Restorationists?" Zeke asked, a faint smile on his simian face. "I don't see your name on the roster."
"So what?" Lillian replied. "You can judge by actions, can't you?"
"True… hmm?" Zeke started to reply, but Lillian lunged with his scythe.
"What are you doing? I wanted to talk to you."
"I also want to talk," Lillian said, accelerating. "But first, I need to knock you down and drag out the real body. I don't like looking up at people when I speak!"
"Ha… interesting."
The Beast Titan slammed one massive hand down. If it had hit, Lillian would have been crushed instantly. The impact sent stones flying and dust rising—but when he looked, there was no blood.
"Pfft—!"
Pain shot up Zeke's leg. He twisted to see Lillian had somehow circled behind him and severed the Achilles tendon of his right leg.
Such speed…
Zeke crouched slightly, sweeping his other leg with incredible force, while his injured leg rapidly healed.
Whoosh!
The scattered stones were cleared by the sweep. Lillian had already leapt aside. Being small and human-sized had advantages and disadvantages against massive Titans: he could move fast enough to be nearly invisible, yet was also vulnerable to area attacks.
Below the wall, Annie glanced up, only to be slammed back by Reiner's relentless charge.
In Titan form, Reiner couldn't speak, but inside, he had made a decision:
First, defeat her!
Unlike Reiner's resolve, Annie hesitated—not in principle, but over whether to fight him. After the incident with Bertholdt, she worried: if she defeated Reiner, would Lillian again "take" him to inherit Titan power?
She did not want that, but didn't know what to do. Her fighting was reduced to passive defense.
Meanwhile, the battle between Ymir and Pieck reached a critical stage. Ymir was stronger in raw attack, but Pieck had far more experience. Pieck dodged Ymir's jaws and used the steel fortress on her back to ram Ymir. Over time, Ymir fell behind. She glanced toward the wall, trusting that Lillian would not lose.
Hurry and finish that monkey bastard, shortie!