Mike Zacharias, the inheritor of the Armored Titan.
He was once hailed as the strongest soldier in the Survey Corps, surpassed only later by Levi Ackerman in the number of Titans he had killed.
But few people knew that it was Mike who had trained the devil of the Survey Corps, Levi.
However, despite being the soldier with the second-highest number of Titan kills, there was an enormous gap between him and Levi.
Although he was not good at expressing his emotions, he had always suspected that Levi Ackerman was not truly a normal human.
Having been his instructor, he understood that Levi's strength was that of a Titan in a human body.
Now, he no longer had that doubt.
The Ackerman race was different from ordinary humans, at least from Mike himself and the rest of the world.
Otherwise, it would not be him suppressing the War Hammer Titan here.
Originally, Levi should have inherited the Armored Titan, but Levi could not inject Titan spinal fluid to become a Titan because of his lineage.
In other words, from another perspective, he, Mike Zacharias, was the strongest human in Paradis!
"Arghhhhh!!!"
The Armored Titan roared as he suppressed the War Hammer Titan in the training grounds.
Blood flowed from the Armored Titan's abdomen; he was trapped within the forest of crystalline spikes created by the War Hammer Titan.
The War Hammer Titan's ability was to control hardening, allowing it to create various objects using that power.
Before coming here to fight, Mike had received information.
The Titan before him was not the true form of the War Hammer Titan, but rather a "puppet" created through hardening abilities.
Or rather, unlike Mike's Armored Titan, the true form of the War Hammer Titan was not controlled from the nape of its neck, but hidden somewhere else.
This "Titan" standing before Mike had no weakness; even if its body were destroyed or its head severed, it would be useless, as it could regenerate rapidly.
It could be said that the War Hammer Titan was the strongest of the Eight Titans in direct combat, wielding the power of "creation."
Except for its limited mobility, which prevented it from straying too far from its true form, it surpassed Mike's Armored Titan in every other aspect.
However, Mike's combat experience was several times greater than that of the War Hammer Titan.
Mike felt this intensely; the Titan's controller's combat skills were clearly clumsy, completely lacking technique or fighting style, yet he was the one being constantly defeated.
There was no skill involved, only stats and mechanics.
The War Hammer Titan's abilities were simply too monstrous.
Mike's armor could not withstand its attacks, and even if he pinned it down, it could still create spikes.
"Hold on a little longer, Mike, we're almost there!" Levi used his ODM Gear to dodge a rapidly approaching spike.
Boom!
He heard the roar of the Jaw Titan; Hange was already on the way.
Just a little longer, and they would win!
"I've got you!" Levi spun faster than a cannon shell, using only his ODM Gear to evade the attacks of the War Hammer Titan.
"I've got your back, nephew!" Kenny shouted as he switched to a direct combat style against an intelligent Titan.
He and Kenny flew straight at it face-to-face, each firing Thunder Spears at the War Hammer Titan's arms, knees, and neck.
Levi fired all eight Thunder Spears in his hand.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The War Hammer Titan's limbs and head were blown apart, but it was useless; the severed parts began pulsing with crystalline material and regenerated.
Erwin and the others were near the training grounds, tasked with dealing with the arriving soldiers.
Levi Squad, along with Kenny Ackerman, had accepted the mission of assisting the Armored Titan.
"A different weapon?"
This time, the War Hammer Titan's head did not solidify into a head; instead, a gigantic crystallized crossbow appeared, and it was forming an arrow.
In an instant, the arrow shot forward, piercing the Armored Titan's forehead.
"No, I can't," Mike gritted his teeth. This body could no longer fight.
The muscles behind his knees had been severed, and his head had been pierced; he had lost sight of the outside world.
"Damn it, how can there be such a cheating Titan!" Mike still had enough stamina for one more transformation; he could transform again.
But no, that transformation was reserved for the extraction mission.
The port did not have a smooth runway, and the merchant ships were not large enough for aircraft to take off.
The plan was for him to provide the acceleration needed for aircraft launches through a catapult system.
With no other choice, Mike emerged from the nape of the Armored Titan.
He was also equipped with ODM Gear, and with Thunder Spears, he could defend himself against the War Hammer Titan for a while.
However, the scene he witnessed the next second made him cry out that it was unfair.
"Hey, hey, hey, seriously, can you really do something like that?"
The surrounding thorny trees began to tremble and transform, forming prototype crossbows.
That thing seemed to have lost patience and was planning to create dozens of giant crossbows at once, launching a large-scale attack against everyone around.
Mike watched as the giant crossbows took shape, running across the steaming body of the Armored Titan, searching for an anchor point for his ODM Gear.
But suddenly, he stopped.
There was no need to run anymore; as a holder of Titan power, he felt a signal coming from the Paths.
"Devil of Paradis Island, die!" The War Hammer Titan created a mouth on its chest and shouted a harsh threat.
Mike silently watched as the crossbow projectile materialized before him. The next second, the crystalline surge came to a halt.
Mike closed his eyes, sensing the signal of the Founding Titan, and pointed toward an area.
"There!"
Upon hearing this, Levi Squad immediately dashed in the direction Mike had indicated.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
They shattered crystals, smashed through doors, and searched everywhere.
Calvi held a bolt-action rifle, aiming at the doorway.
But the enemy did not come through the door. They entered through the gaps behind him; the battle between the War Hammer Titan and the Armored Titan had left the surrounding buildings extremely unstable.
A short man stepped in and kicked the rifle from Calvi's hand.
Levi examined the man in the white suit, who was none other than Willy, and the girl sealed inside the crystal egg similar to Annie's.
The crystals rapidly collapsed; the Founding Titan had sealed the War Hammer Titan's power, releasing its hardened form.
The crystals shattered, and the girl weakly collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
What use was strength when the Founding Titan had exiled it?
The girl had expended a tremendous amount of energy during the battle.
Levi stepped forward and knocked her unconscious. Petra pulled out a thin rope and tightly bound her.
Willy looked at those people in silence. At that moment, saying anything was pointless; he was certain that he was doomed.
But to his surprise, those islanders from Paradis looked at him and then left as they had come, leaving only a single sentence hanging in the air:
"Eldia belongs back home."
They did not kill Willy or Calvi. They only took Willy's sister, even though it was obvious at a glance that both men belonged to Marley's upper ranks.
Willy found himself momentarily confused about their intentions. Forcing himself to stand, he walked to the hole opened by the short soldier and looked outside.
The mobile forces of Paradis Island had begun their withdrawal, whistling and hurriedly moving toward the distant rooftops.
"Has the vow renouncing war been broken?" Willy thought as he gazed upon the carnage, deeply troubled and sighing helplessly.