The abundance of mindless Titans brought by Erwin gradually slowed the Armored Titan’s progress. Simultaneously, the Survey Corps engaged the Titans in bloody combat.
“Where’s Levi?” Erwin shouted amidst the chaos, looking towards Armin and the others.
“Captain Levi and Mikasa stayed behind to stop the Female Titan,” Armin responded loudly.
“I see,” Erwin said, glancing back before focusing on the Armored Titan, overwhelmed by the Titans.
“Go!” he ordered, and Connie, Jean, and Sasha launched themselves towards the Armored Titan using their ODM gear. The Armored Titan’s hand protected its nape while two Titans were biting the other. Four more Titans clung to its legs.
Due to its armored body, the mindless Titans had difficulty biting through. However, their sheer numbers slowed the Armored Titan significantly.
“Bertholdt, how long are you going to hide?” Connie and Jean stood on the Armored Titan’s shoulder, peering through its fingers to see Bertholdt inside.
“Bertholdt, Reiner, are you really going to leave like this?” Armin joined them, demanding answers.
“Why won’t you stop chasing us?” Bertholdt yelled, avoiding eye contact.
“Give us Eren!” Armin and the others demanded, their faces twisted with anger.
“No way! We came to this island to reclaim the power of the Titans,” Bertholdt shouted back.
“So that’s why you breached Wall Maria five years ago?” Armin, Connie, and the others glared at him.
Eren struggled behind Bertholdt, his hands and mouth bound but his eyes burning with fury.
“Eren, if you come with us, it will all be over,” Bertholdt tried to persuade him.
“Give us Eren!” Connie and the others hacked at the Armored Titan’s fingers with their blades but couldn’t make a dent.
“The Dark One has appeared. I must protect you,” Zhou Wei said, appearing with his ODM gear and speaking in a language Armin and the others didn’t understand.
“Zhou Wei, what are you saying?” Armin asked, confused.
“Stand back. I’ll rescue Eren,” Zhou Wei declared, no longer willing to wait.
“Can you really save Eren?” Both Connie and Bertholdt were shocked.
“Shocking Hundred Li,” Zhou Wei channeled his qi, using the formidable Shocking Hundred Li strike from the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
A three-meter-long golden dragon appeared in Zhou Wei’s hands, accompanied by a dragon’s roar. The decisive strike shattered the Armored Titan’s fingers, sending Connie and the others flying.
Even the immense force knocked even the Armored Titan, causing Reiner to experience a concussion and become disoriented.
Amidst the steaming chaos, Zhou Wei seized Eren and darted through the surrounding Titans, appearing behind the lines.
“Eren has been rescued!” Armin and the others, who had witnessed the scene from above, were stunned.
“This…” Connie and Jean were dumbfounded. Their blades couldn’t even scratch the Armored Titan’s armor, but Zhou Wei shattered it with one strike.
“Bertholdt,” Reiner, lying on the ground, roared as mindless Titans tore at him. The impact of Zhou Wei’s strike had left Bertholdt with broken bones, nearly unconscious. But Reiner’s roar jolted him awake, and golden lightning enveloped him.
“No, retreat!” Armin shouted. If Bertholdt transformed into the Colossal Titan, the resulting steam explosion would devastate everything within a 50-meter radius.
“Retreat…” Erwin commanded, and the Survey Corps retreated in terror.
Eren had been rescued; it was time to retreat. More Titans converged from all directions, and staying longer would mean destruction.
A towering Colossal Titan, nearly 60 meters tall, stood amidst the steam explosion, its massive frame intimidating.
The Titan’s hand grabbed the ground and hurled debris at the retreating Survey Corps, creating a deadly rain of stones and earth.
“Watch out for the Colossal Titan’s attack!” Erwin warned, but it was too late. The ground was littered with the remains of soldiers, blood, and entrails scattered everywhere.
Amidst the chaos, a figure darted through the steam and debris, emerging at the foot of the Colossal Titan. Reiner, recovering nearby, saw Tang An appear out of nowhere, his eyes filled with terror.
Ignoring Reiner, Tang An launched like a bullet toward the Colossal Titan’s nape. His kukri knife gleamed as he slashed through the Titan’s nape, revealing Bertholdt inside.
Reiner’s warning came too late.
“Argh!” Bertholdt screamed as Tang An severed him in half. Holding Bertholdt’s upper body, Tang An descended rapidly. At 20 meters from the ground, Tang An’s left hand bled, and golden lightning enveloped him as he transformed into the Female Titan.
Grabbing Bertholdt, Tang An shoved him into his mouth.
“No…!” Bertholdt’s eyes were filled with terror as he was chewed to pieces.
“Bertholdt!” Reiner roared, helplessly watching his comrade be devoured.
With dirt and debris flying, Tang An sprinted away, the Colossal Titan’s corpse collapsing behind him.
“What just happened?” Armin and the others, who had escaped, looked back to see the Female Titan devour Bertholdt and the Colossal Titan falling.
“The Female Titan isn’t their ally,” Connie muttered, barely making out Bertholdt being eaten.
“Who is the Female Titan? Friend or foe?” Everyone wondered, and the situation grew more complicated.
Returning was impossible now, as more mindless Titans approached and the Survey Corps had suffered heavy losses.
Zhou Wei’s face was bleak. He had confirmed that the Female Titan was indeed the Dark One. Although he didn’t know how the Dark One had inherited Annie’s power, it was clear that Eren and he were now targets.
But who was this Dark One? A human or a demon? Zhou Wei didn’t know. He had once suspected someone, but the Female Titan had killed that person.
Become a Patron read up to 40 chapter ahead public release ^_^
Please join Discord Server so we can talk ^_^
