At one o'clock in the afternoon, Eren, Connie, and the others were busy reinforcing and checking the artillery installations along the wall under the leadership of a Garrison Regiment elite squad leader.
Everyone's expressions were quite relaxed, as these were easy tasks after all.
More importantly, they were about to graduate, at which point they would be able to choose whether to join the Survey Corps, the Garrison Regiment, or the Military Police Brigade.
However, only those with overall scores in the top ten were eligible to join the Military Police Brigade.
Eren's goal had always been the Survey Corps.
"Connie, is everything okay on your end?"
After checking his own sector, Eren looked over at Connie in the distance.
"I've got a minor issue over here, but give me three minutes and I'll have it patched up."
Connie raised his head and wiped away a bead of sweat; the temperature was a bit high today.
Yet up here on the fifty-meter-tall wall, strong gusts of wind blew past from time to time, bringing the only moments of coolness.
"Then I'll go check other areas."
"Alright."
Just as Eren moved into action, a bolt of golden lightning plunged from the sky. Accompanied by a violent storm and a surge of steam, a gigantic head materialized right behind Eren.
The Colossal Titan had appeared.
Its skin was crimson and made entirely of muscle with no outer epidermis, venting massive plumes of steam and radiating intense heat.
Eren, Connie, and everyone else were blasted away instantly.
With his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear anchored to the wall, Eren stared at the Colossal Titan, his expression twisting instantly into ferocity.
"Whoosh..."
His anchor lines fired into the Colossal Titan's shoulder, and as Eren flew through the air, he locked eyes with those massive orbs, enduring the scorching steam with a fierce glare.
"It's been five years."
Eren roared, wishing he could tear the monster to pieces.
Yet the Colossal Titan paid him no mind, instead lifting its right leg high and bringing it down with unmatched force against the outer gate of the wall.
That instant felt like the sky shattering and the earth splitting; the entire gate failed to withstand even a single second before being kicked to pieces.
The deafening roar shook the entire surrounding area of Wall Rose.
Countless fragments of stone rained down like meteors, cutting a path of absolute destruction through everything in their wake.
Amid the terrified screams of countless humans, houses collapsed like paper, and countless people were crushed into bloody pulp, flesh and viscera splashing everywhere.
At the same time, the hurricane force sweeping inward from the gate completely flattened a radius of five hundred meters.
The massive airflow surged endlessly through the gateway, sounding like the whispers of demons.
"Clang... clang..."
The large bell on the central building began to toll, and the entire southern sector of Wall Rose descended into chaos.
"The Titan broke through the wall!"
"Run!"
"It's been five years, has it appeared again?"
"Help!"
"My child, my child!"
"Ah..."
This was the very definition of a living hell. Severed limbs and broken bones flew through the air, and humanity was being crushed as casually as ants.
"Has it appeared?"
Standing on the roof of his house, Tang An already had his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear equipped at his waist. The gale blowing in from the gate was so intense it nearly threw him off balance.
Right now, looking at the gigantic, ugly head covered in crimson muscle outside the wall, he could see it continuously venting scorching steam from every inch of its body.
"As expected of the protagonist."
Even from a distance of over a thousand meters, Tang An could see Eren flying right toward the head of the Colossal Titan.
Even when vastly outmatched in sheer size, Eren showed no fear and intended to slice open the Colossal Titan's nape.
Yet it was destined to be a futile effort.
Sure enough, amidst a massive burst of steam, the Colossal Titan vanished into thin air.
Regaining his line of sight, Eren struck empty space.
"It disappeared."
Eren landed back on the wall, staring blankly at the deep crater outside which left only two gigantic footprints, while everything else was completely empty.
"Eren, did you kill the Colossal Titan?"
Connie, nursing a few minor burns, looked at Eren with a dazed expression.
"No, it disappeared just like it did five years ago."
With a fierce look on his face, Eren gripped his sword hilts tightly.
"The equipment on the wall has all been destroyed."
Other members of the Garrison Regiment ran over, their faces etched with terror.
The appearance of the Colossal Titan made them remember five years ago.
Could Wall Rose not be defended either?
This was the southern district, but what about the eastern, western, and northern districts?
"Fall back first."
Using their mobility gear, the group leaped down from the wall and flew swiftly toward the inner wall.
They had to report this immediately.
"All personnel, assemble."
Meanwhile, inside the inner wall, Garrison Captain Kitz quickly mobilized all troops to prepare for defense, as Pure Titans had already begun entering the interior through the gate.
"Captain, our numbers aren't enough!"
"Aren't the 104th Training Corps Cadets here? Have them equip their mobility gear immediately. Everyone must defend this wall; we cannot let the Titans run rampant again!"
"Sir!"
"Hurry... hurry..."
"Prepare for battle!"
"Sir!"
Tang An remained standing on his rooftop, watching the Titans pouring continuously through the gate--some three meters tall, others five, ten, or even twelve meters, all completely varied.
Every Titan was different; some were fat, some were thin, and some even had hair, making them deeply deformed!
From their instinctive movements, it was clear they were utterly brainless.
"My first time seeing a real Pure Titan."
A seven-meter-tall obese Titan had a belly that looked like a ten-month pregnancy, while its lower body was completely smooth without any male or female organs. Its eyes and mouth were huge, and most importantly, it was bald.
It looked precisely like a deformed old man.
Firing his anchor into the fat Titan's shoulder, Tang An took the initiative, flying to the back of its head. Drawing his twin blades, he slashed across the nape, sending a massive chunk of flesh flying as the fat Titan crashed heavily to the ground.
Nothing difficult about it.
Yet situations always subverted expectations as a gaping maw suddenly lunged forward.
It was a five-meter-tall Titan, leaping directly in an attempt to devour Tang An.
A wave of stench washed over him, its front teeth resembling a computer keyboard.
Anyone else might have already been swallowed down.
"Whoosh..."
The air shrieked as Tang An vanished in a blur, reappearing to the left of the Titan and stepping with Moonwalk to cleanly slice away its nape flesh.
Landing back on a building roof and watching the Titans rampaging and devouring people all around, Tang An narrowed his eyes.
"Time to extract some spinal fluid first."
Looking at the fat Titan and the five-meter Titan he had just killed, their corpses were venting steam and their flesh was continuously dissolving, looking utterly repulsive.
Just as Tang An prepared to extract the spinal fluid, a figure materialized out of thin air three hundred meters to his left.
Tang An was certain of what he saw; the person had appeared literally out of nothing.
Could it be...
Zhou Wei. Male. 20 years old. Main God Space: Reincarnator #1678 Rank: Level 4 Remaining Exchange Points: 1,000 points Weapon: One Dragon Slaying Saber Skills:
- Nine Yang Manual (Level 4): Cultivated to 40 years of internal Qi, tendon-altering and marrow-cleansing, spontaneous internal energy generation, increased attack and defense, holy healing scripture, immunity to all illnesses and poisons... - Lingbo Microsteps (Level 3): Flowing clouds and running water, light as a swallow, ethereal phantoms... - Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (Level 3): Condenses a golden dragon in the palms, fierce and domineering, snaps trees and shatters rocks, destructive force... - Worldview: Over two thousand years ago, within an Eldian tribe, the ruler at the time, King Fritz, had a slave named Ymir... - Mission 1: Hunt ten Pure Titans. Reward: 1,000 exchange points. - Mission 2: Save ten soldiers from the Training Corps, Garrison Regiment, or Survey Corps. Reward: 1,000 exchange points. - Mission 3: Join the Survey Corps. Reward: 1,000 exchange points. - Mission 4: Protect the Child of Destiny from being hunted by the Dark Ones within six months. Reward: 50,000 exchange points. - Mission 5: Hunt the Dark Ones. Reward: 100,000 exchange points. - Note: Dark Ones are leftover viruses from the myriad worlds; they will hunt down the Child of Destiny, Reincarnators, and Transmigrators...