"Reiner! It's Reiner! Reiner's been captured!" Connie shouted in terror as he rushed over.
"Damn it! Why has another powerful Titan appeared?!" Jean exclaimed when he saw the Jaw Titan's scaled armor and the mask-like plating covering its face. He could immediately tell that this Titan was anything but ordinary.
"What… what is going on…?" Armin said in fear as he heard the earth-shaking roar of a Titan in the distance.
Mikasa quickly flew up to the town's clock tower and looked toward the horizon. Her eyes instantly narrowed.
"Armin! Another unusual Titan has appeared!" she shouted.
"What… how could this happen…" Armin looked anxiously at Eren, who was carrying the massive boulder.
Not far away, Historia—who was working with her squad to bring down a Titan—turned toward the direction of the roar, her heart filled with worry.
Chen Si… please be safe!
"How did another Titan that looks impossible to defeat suddenly appear?!"
"This one looks as strong as the Armored Titan!"
"Can we really stop it…?"
"Is humanity about to be wiped out…?"
Seeing the sudden appearance of a new Titan type, the soldiers were completely shaken. Their morale plummeted.
"Don't worry about it! Ignore it! Everyone, defend Eren with your lives!" Ian shouted hoarsely, snapping the terrified soldiers back to their senses.
"Report, Squad Leader Ian! Mitabi's squad has been completely wiped out!" a blood-covered soldier ran over to report. He had been assisting Mitabi's unit in battle.
"Your squad?" Ian asked, his eyes dim.
"I'm the only one left." The soldier's eyes were empty.
"Damn it!" Rico shouted angrily as she cut down a seven-meter Titan and looked toward the distance in grief.
The casualties among the soldiers protecting Eren were already extremely severe. Yet once they regained their composure, they still rushed forward one after another, gritting their teeth as they attacked the surrounding Pure Titans.
At this moment, Marcel—transformed into the Jaw Titan—was gripping Reiner tightly. No one dared to act rashly.
Chen Si, however, didn't move.
A surprising scene unfolded.
Afraid of crushing Reiner, Marcel hadn't used much force. Suddenly, Reiner drew a long blade and began hacking wildly at Marcel's palm, his eyes filled with fury and madness.
"Damn Titan! I will never submit to you—AAH!" Reiner roared, his voice stirring the crowd.
"Reiner!" Marco shouted and rushed forward without hesitation.
"Damn it! Connie, let's go!" Jean gritted his teeth and gathered his courage as he charged in.
Seeing everyone rush forward, Chen Si grew anxious as well. He raised his blade and dashed out.
Marcel tossed Reiner into the air and swung a massive clawed hand toward him. Reiner activated his ODM gear and retreated quickly. Just as the blow was about to hit him, Connie grabbed him and pulled him away.
Chen Si's eyes narrowed slightly. He realized Marcel had deliberately slowed his attack. The Jaw Titan's strike speed was certainly not slower than his own.
Marcel gazed deeply at Reiner.
Looks like Reiner really is a natural warrior… not much weaker than my younger brother. He saw through my sudden plan so quickly. His acting is convincing too—like he truly hates me.
What Marcel didn't know was that for the past three years Bertholdt had been living in constant fear under the adopted "soldier persona," terrified that one night Reiner's Paradis personality would suddenly awaken and kill him in his sleep.
Ignoring the soldiers flying toward him, Marcel fixed his gaze on Chen Si.
Since his identity had already been exposed, he needed to kill one of Paradis's top fighters to recover the loss. Marcel could sense several Pure Titans already beginning to converge on him.
His eyes grew cold.
They cannot learn this secret. I must end this quickly.
Including Jean, Connie, Marco, and Chen Si, fifteen soldiers rushed toward Marcel.
"Don't go! Get back!" Chen Si shouted.
"How could we retreat now?!" a squad leader yelled as he accelerated with his ODM gear toward the Jaw Titan's nape.
At that moment, Marcel swung his hand and crushed the soldiers in midair.
Seeing this, Chen Si's heart jolted.
"Get the hell back! Retreat! MOVE!" he roared.
Chen Si shot forward like a bolt of lightning and slashed horizontally at the Jaw Titan's wrist. Half the flesh of its wrist was torn away instantly—but Chen Si's blade shattered at the same time.
"Damn it!"
He immediately propelled himself upward with his ODM gear to evade. He had given his specially tempered blade to Mikasa earlier—there was no time to retrieve it now.
Seven or eight soldiers were smashed into a cloud of blood on the spot. Several more bodies were sent flying.
"How can it be this strong?!" Connie shouted in despair, his pupils trembling.
"How could this happen… Marco!" Jean cried, confused—then his pupils shrank.
Marco's body had been thrown straight into the air.
Chen Si flew toward him with his ODM gear. The last burst of gas fired—and then the tank ran completely dry.
Feeling that only half of the electrical power in his body remained, Chen Si gritted his teeth and activated his lightning ability. He lunged forward and caught Marco before he hit the ground, placing him carefully on a rooftop.
"Jean! Take Marco and go! All of you—leave! You can't take part in the next fight!" Chen Si roared.
"What… can't take part…?" Jean felt a huge blow to his pride, but he still rushed to Marco's side.
"Chen Si! Bertholdt might be going to blow up the wall! Actually… there's one more person I never told you about," Annie suddenly said as she flew to Chen Si's side.
"Sawano Kawa," Chen Si replied through clenched teeth. He had already guessed Marley's strategy—three separate routes, all based on having enough people and complete confidence in Marcel's overwhelming combat strength.
Annie was momentarily stunned. She no longer knew what Chen Si didn't already know.
"Do you want me to…?" she hesitated.
"No. You can't act openly—otherwise your father will definitely die," Chen Si said.
"But don't worry. I'm invincible. How could your man lose to just a Titan? After all… I still have to fight all of Marley for you."
As he spoke, blue light blazed in Chen Si's eyes. Arcs of lightning crackled around his body, wrapping him completely.
"For… me…" Annie's eyes trembled.
Looking at Chen Si now—his body cloaked in lightning—that moment and those words were forever etched into her heart.