"So" Frieda started as she was looking over the files "you found the invaders?"
"Yes, your majesty" Traute responded emotionlessly "Braun, Hoover and Lenhart are the greatest suspects."
The young queen bit her lip at that. Nothing was for sure, but if Kenny's memory was to be trusted, there was no mistaking it. The three recruits were the intruders she's been looking for.
"Great job, lieutenant Caven" the dark-haired woman spoke, looking said MP in the eyes "could you please, leave us alone for a moment?"
The female looked between Frieda and Kenny and after she got a reassuring glance from her captain, she left the office.
"Great choice of men" the queen exclaimed once the door was closed.
"They are all highly skilled, well-disciplined and above all else, loyal" the old Ackerman said proudly.
The loyalty aspect was the only thing that was bothering Frieda. Being too loyal could sometimes mean something very different from what she was expecting. There was an old saying within the Reiss family: any servant of yours can have a servant of their own as well. And right now, it very well seemed like it.
Frieda needed to be careful of Kenny from then on.
"So" the woman heard the man say, which stopped her train of thought "what is the plan?"
"We lure them out" she spoke slowly "you secure the area and I catch them."
The old Ackerman looked at her with wide eyes.
"Uhm" he expressed with astonishment "what?"
"Just do what I say" Frieda responded, looking down at the invaders' files.
"Hey!" Kenny exclaimed, this time more seriously "you're sayin' you'll just take them on?"
"Yes" the young queen replied, not bothering to look up "that's what I said…"
"Are you crazy?" The man yelled with confusion "you can't be…"
"Shut your foul mouth…" Frieda spoke icily.
Just like any other time, her right-hand man was stunned. Good thing that she was still keeping some secrets away from him. This way, she would be feared, and her command would remain undisputed.
"I have a way of dealing with them" the queen explained after a moment of silence "now, go and plan the operation…"
There was one other thing she discovered about the coordinate's power. Enriching the soil with minerals wasn't the only thing the wielder of the founder could do with their surroundings. It has been said that those of the nine, can potentially unlock new kinds of abilities under certain circumstances. And as it turned out, the possibilities of the founding titan were nearly limitless…
'It all depends on this moment' Frieda thought as she felt the bones and flesh of her titan form surround her.
The steam from the explosions filled the entire clearing. From what she could see, only Braun managed to transform. Of course, if the colossal titan did so, the entire forest could be levelled down. But the queen seriously doubted that its shifter would risk the safety of their comrades. If that came to be, her chances would grow really thin.
As the smoke subsided, she saw that in front of her stood the armoured titan. Behind him, she could see the faint figures of Leonhart and Hoover, cowering in fear.
The explosion didn't knock them out, but it was to be expected. A trained soldier definitely knew when to get down and this time, they were saved by their fighting experience.
'Not for long' Frieda thought as she took a battle stance.
Her adversary raised his fists, clearly not anticipating what was to come.
The queen's titanic form took one long, deep breath.
In an instance, a large cloud of gas was ejected from her titan's mouth.
The volume was so big that the substance covered the whole nearby area. The gas reached not only the clearing, but the forest as well. And it was spreading fast. Frieda's powerful exhale even started a small wind, as the nearby trees bent from the great pressure.
Those of the nine could not be controlled through the power of the coordinate. At least not in the way that she needed right now. But her abilities were still far beyond comprehension.
This time, she did the same thing as when fertilizing the wastelands. Into the air she was breathing out, she introduced a powerful sleeping agent.
And it didn't take long before it started working. Before the invaders could understand what was happening, the two on the ground were already coughing. A moment later, they fell to the ground lifeless.
It wouldn't kill them. All because Frieda needed those three alive.
'Speaking of the three…' the queen thought as she looked at the armoured titan.
It seemed as if his shock was slowly turning into anger. As his comrades fell to the ground, he instantly turned around and started running towards her at full speed.
'His greatest strength is his armour' Frieda thought as she was preparing to deliver her blow.
The young woman was never really the fighter type. The brute force of a titan form was more than enough at most times. However, this time she was facing off against a stronger opponent, so she needed some kind of an edge.
Even though her angered foe was running, he was still extremely slow. His movements were hindered by the mass of his hardened skin and Frieda could easily anticipate what he was trying to do. However, under normal circumstances, no regular opponent could utilize this advantage, as the powerful armour covering him from head to toe provided much needed defence from any attacks.
But she was no mere opponent.
As Frieda swiftly dodged his slow strike, she made a single attempt at hitting her adversary in the head.
The armoured titan, didn't even bother raising his guard, probably thinking that such a hit would do no damage to his protected form.
'You may be the armoured titan' the queen thought as her fist impacted with the invader's jaw 'but I am the one who controls all the hardening!'
In a single moment, the shifter's whole hardened armour shattered to bits. The powerful strike knocked the defenceless head off the titan's shoulders.
As smoke filled the air, Frieda stood victorious over the kneeling form of the defeated armoured titan. A few moments later, she leaned down and bit into its unprotected nape, extracting the fallen warrior in the process.
The queen looked over the clearing. Aside from several giant footsteps, a few broken trees and a large volume of smoke filling the area, it looked pretty much the same as before. The other invaders were still asleep, seemingly unharmed.
"It's over" she finally spoke, before sitting down and releasing herself from her titan.