"What's going on with those two?"
The soldiers of the Garrison Regiment stared in shock at the scene before them. Just two people—only two—were forcibly blocking the city gate that had been smashed open by the Colossal Titan.
Especially that blonde girl. Her speed was like a raging gale; to the naked eye, only an afterimage could be seen flashing past as the surrounding Titans were effortlessly cut down.
"Are they some kind of secret weapon of the military?" one soldier muttered, instinctively swallowing.
There were also those who remained rational. One officer shouted loudly, "Don't worry about that! While they're holding the Titans back, hurry up and rescue the wounded and evacuate the civilians!"
With Ryuu and Roy blocking the Titans, the situation was far better than everyone had imagined. Aside from the casualties caused by the rubble kicked up by the Colossal Titan's initial strike, losses were minimal.
The Garrison Regiment began organizing the evacuation of the civilians.
Blending in with the crowd, Bertholdt carried the unconscious Annie on his back, moving along with the refugees. His expression was tense, but hardly anyone paid attention to them.
Suddenly, Bertholdt noticed a handsome black-haired youth walking straight toward him. He lowered his head—no one inside the walls should know their identities.
Yet the youth was staring directly at them.
Roy narrowed his eyes, recalling the intelligence he knew about the Titan world. The warrior unit dispatched by Marley had been sent to test the will of the king within the walls and to seize the Founding Titan.
However, an accident occurred on the day they arrived at Paradis Island.
Their captain, Marcel, was eaten by a suddenly appearing Pure Titan (Ymir) while trying to save Reiner. Before the mission truly began, they had already lost both their leader and the Jaw Titan.
The squad argued over whether to continue the mission, and in the end, Reiner forced the other two to press on.
Annie transformed into the Female Titan and, together with Reiner and Bertholdt, approached the walls. Along the way, she used the Female Titan's ability to attract large numbers of Pure Titans. Without the Jaw Titan to take turns, the route that was originally meant to be run jointly by the Jaw Titan and the Female Titan was completed by Annie alone.
By the time she reached the wall, Annie had exhausted all her strength and fell unconscious.
At this moment, Reiner should have transformed into the Armored Titan to breach the inner wall. Bertholdt and Annie then took advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the interior. One was unconscious, the other had just destroyed the wall and was running low on stamina—
And they ran straight into Roy.
Thinking of the generous rewards listed in the dungeon quest, Roy felt it was absolutely necessary to take this opportunity.
Wind Treading!
The moment the distance between them closed to ten meters, Roy's mind stirred. He activated the special effect of the Gale Boots. His Agility shot up close to A-rank, wild wind coiling around his legs.
Fortunately, he had just increased his Dexterity. Roy's figure weaved nimbly through the crowd, rapidly closing in on Bertholdt, and thrust his longsword forward with full force.
Bertholdt was, after all, a warrior carefully selected by Marley. Catching a glimpse of the sharp cold light out of the corner of his eye, he instinctively twisted his head aside. The icy blade shaved off half his cheek and his ear, blood spraying everywhere.
"AAAAH—!"
Bertholdt screamed in pain. Annie slipped from his back and fell to the ground. He kicked Roy hard in the abdomen, sending him stumbling back several steps.
The sudden turn of events frightened the surrounding refugees, who hurriedly retreated, leaving an empty space around the three of them.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
The commotion immediately drew the attention of nearby soldiers. Three or four rushed over, furious—was there really infighting among their own people at a time like this?
"Where did you get such a dangerous weapon?! Who are your parents?!" One soldier, seeing that Roy looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, angrily scolded him and rushed forward to seize the Muramasa Sword from his hands.
The instant the man got close, Roy swept his leg out and knocked the soldier flat to the ground.
More than a hundred years of peace had long since worn away the fighting spirit of the people inside the walls. After the Colossal Titan breached the wall, the local Garrison Regiment didn't even have a few soldiers proficient in using the omni-directional mobility gear.
Against trash like this, Roy could take them down in a single move.
Roy gestured toward Bertholdt and said calmly, "That guy is the one who destroyed the wall—the Colossal Titan from earlier."
The surrounding area instantly fell into dead silence.
Civilians and soldiers alike gaped, stiffly turning their heads to stare at Bertholdt.
Bertholdt himself was stunned, his mind in disbelief. How had he been exposed?
At the moment when it felt as if everyone's brain had frozen, Roy moved. In a single burst, he dashed to Annie, who was lying not far away, and brought the Muramasa Sword down fiercely toward her neck.
Having been dropped to the ground, Annie had just regained a trace of consciousness. Her eyes opened, but she hadn't even had time to think.
A flash of cold light descended. Using the ground as a chopping block, the blade severed her neck in one strike—head and body separating.
The blonde girl's head rolled several times across the ground. Only then did she realize what had happened. Her widened pupils reflected Roy's face as the light in her eyes gradually faded.
Perhaps, in her final moment, she regretted continuing the mission instead of returning to see her father.
"What a pity," Roy muttered. Blonde hair was one of his preferences—but unfortunately, she didn't have long hair, wasn't an elf, and didn't have pointed ears.
[Successfully killed Annie Leonhart (Female Titan). Congratulations on obtaining 1200 attribute points, Titan Slayer (Equipment), Quality: Advanced…]
Annie's corpse seemed to burst with golden light.
Roy glanced at the system panel. He had no mood to focus on the loot now. The rewards were excellent, but what awaited him next was the enemy's most terrifying retaliation.
Seeing Annie killed, Bertholdt was first stunned, then overwhelmed with grief. His eyes turned blood-red. He completely forgot the pain, even forgot his identity and mission.
"You actually killed Annie—I'll kill you!"
Boom!
Golden lightning erupted from Bertholdt's body. A thunderous blast descended from the sky and slammed into the ground, the resulting shockwave flinging nearby buildings and people into the air.
Before the soldiers and civilians in the area could even react, they were crushed to death by flying debris and scorching heat.
Within the dazzling light, centered on Bertholdt, bones formed, then muscles…
Seeing that the situation was dire, Roy dove toward a nearby house and curled his body tightly into the corner of a bluestone wall.
Waves of searing heat rolled over him, like being trapped inside a massive furnace. Without even looking, Roy knew his skin had been burned red, the pain intense.
Bertholdt was a rare genius, capable of freely controlling the Colossal Titan's nuclear-level explosion. He had to do something—or he would die here.
It felt as though one foot had already stepped through the gates of hell. The sense of impending death enveloped Roy completely.
Roy pulled out the Profound Ice Blade and plunged it into the ground.
Whoosh!
A burst of frigid energy erupted from the blade, roaring like a massive dragon. With lightning speed, it lunged straight toward Bertholdt.
The surging heat abruptly came to a halt.
Roy cautiously peeked out. Bertholdt—only his upper body remaining, a Colossal Titan over twenty meters tall—had been frozen into an enormous ice sculpture.
Crack!
Before Roy could breathe a sigh of relief, a faint sound echoed from the ice. Dense cracks appeared across the frozen surface, rapidly spreading outward.
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