Author's Note: I'm slapping a big fat spoiler warning for this chapter, due to the Armored Titan using an ability from Manga chapter 75, and mimicking something that the Female Titan does later in the Anime. You have been warned.
Luke's Goliath form slammed into the ground with an earth shattering crash. The shock wave from the impact threw up a massive storm of dust and debris, as any house near the gate was flattened. The impact also caused powerful gusts of wind to unleash themselves throughout the area, battering anything close by.
The Armored Titan had finally managed to get close to the gate. Unlike last time, there were no soldier's on the ground to even attempt at stopping his advance, and it was very unlikely that humans had figured out what to do with Eren, and the four, no, five unknowns that called themselves 'The Evolved'. The human they had brought with them was the furthest thing from his mind as he approached, smirking from the comfort of the Titan Form's nape. None of the artillery near the gate were manned. 'This will be to easy,' He thought, 'Smash through the gate, abandon this form, and "join" the defenders. Our cover will remain intact, and the mission will be almost complete.' He lined himself up with the gate, and preparing to charge. However, as he about to charge forward and shatter the gate, he heard something. He looked up, just as shiny shell's began to impact into his body. The Armored Titan gritted his teeth in barely restrained fury. He had thought the human was using simply smaller artillery shells, not whatever he was actually using. The shell's hurt the Titan, not much, but enough. Unlike the rounded shells normally used by the human's, these were based on old world technology, making them pointed. The shells attempted to dig into Armored Titan's defenses before detonating, instead of just exploding on impact, and the Armored Titan could definitely feel the difference. Before he could recover from the annoying and slightly painful barrage, something slammed into the ground in front of the gate. Dust and debris was thrown everywhere, rapidly followed by powerful winds. However, nothing shook the Armored Titan more than the roar that came from the cloud of debris. The earth quaked alongside it, and the air was forced to carry it's echo. He had heard it more than a few times throughout the day, but this time he was truly shaken. For this time, he wasn't fighting alongside it. No. He was the target of its rage. But he was a warrior. He would fight this creature, and even if he couldn't win the first time, he would still find a way to complete his mission. He charged forward, intent on doing his duty.
Luke let out tremendous bellow mere seconds after impact. The earth splitting roar broke the street around him, letting out another, smaller shockwave of force. The Armored Titan seemed to pause, almost if weighing if the fight was one worth fighting, or even if it could possible win. The debris field surrounding Luke had finally begun to settle, the Armored Titan taking it's original stance, as Luke hunched down, preparing to charge. Thier eyes lock, then they charge, the Armored Titan's feet ripping apart the street with each step, as Luke's four limbed charge left large gouges in the ground. Luke's charge stopped meters before the two collided, but his momentum remained as he slashed at the Armored Titan, the first blow connecting to it's face, leaving long scratch marks along it's armored head. The second missed as the Armored Titan stepped back, causing the blow to rip off the roof of a nearby house, sending it flying. The Armored Titan clenched it's right hand into a fist, and swung it at the side of Luke's head, while Luke swung his right hand in downward arc at the Armored Titan's head. Both blows connected at the same time, Luke's blow merely scratching the armored head of his foe. However, the Armored Titan's blow landed squarely on the side of the Goliath's head, unleashing shockwave that leveled several house, and breaking the stones in the road. Luke, however, was barely moved by the earth quaking blow, bringing his left hand down in the fist, smashing into the Armored Titan's head. A crater appeared in the street blow from the force of the blow, the Titan doubling over from the force. Luke then brought both his fist's together, before slamming them in Armored Titan's chest, his Goliath strength knocking his opponent into the air.
The Titan Shifter was shocked. Him smashing his fist into the side of the Goliath's face had done nothing! He was strong enough to send almost any Titan Shifter sailing through the air. So was his blow able to move it barely a few meters? The Armored Titan knocked out of it's thoughts as a massive fist slammed into his skull, making the shifter double over. The second blow came from both fists at the same time, hitting with enough force easily knock him airborne. His massive form was knocked easily more twenty meters up, before gravity regained control, sending him plummeting back the ground with a crash. The Armored Titan pulled itself out of the crater he found himself in as the Goliath slowly advanced. The human inside it's nape snarled. Steam began to roll lazily off the Titan's unwounded hands and feet, skin hardening even further, forming something akin to claws at the end of it's fingers.
Ian's eyes narrowed as he watched the clash below him. Like what Mary had reported, the wall breaking Titan Shifters where a Colosoul Class Titan, and a Fully Armored Class Titan. But an Armored Class Titan shouldn't have the force to break through the Walls in one single strike. Even aiming at the gate, it should be able to do that much damage. Ian stared down as steam began to lazily roll off the hands and feet, eyes widening in shock.
"That's not good," Ian said, eyes narrowing. Commander Pixis turn to face him.
"What do you mean?" He asked, eyes turning away from the battle that enthralled his troops.
"Armor isn't the Armored Titan's only trick it appears," Ian's face was grim.
"And might what that be?" the Commander asked.
"It has the hardening ability. This may be harder than Luke originally thought," Ian stated.
Luke rapidly closed the distance as the Armored Titan returned to it's feet. His claws slashed at his opponent, only leaving minor scratches in it's armor. However the Armored Titan returned the blows with even greater force, it's blows landing on the creature's head. The force shattered the street below, forcing the Goliath back with the extra armor adding force to the blows. However Luke didn't like being forced back, letting about a roar of rage, grabbing ahold of the Armored Titan, before slamming it into a nearby building. The attack didn't truly daze the Titan, but it had to pull itself out of the mostly ruined house that wouldn't support it's weight. It quickly got to it's feet, charging at the Goliath as it lifted a rock above his head. Luke brought the rock over his head, before smashing it into the Armored Titan's skull. The Titan stumbled, before Luke threw the rock into it's chest, knocking it back even further. The two stared each other down, before the both charged, clashing together, hands and muscles straining against each other, trying to push the other back. The weight of the Goliath prevented Luke from being pushed back, while the Armored Titan's crystalline toes gripping into the street, keeping the Titan in place. Both pushed and strained against the other, trying to overcome their opponent through nothing more than sheer force. One would have to give first, and Luke had a trick up his sleeve. The Goliath reared back, almost like it was about to roar again, but instead unleashed a torrent of blue flame onto the Armored Titan.
The Armored Titan grit its teeth as him and the Goliath slammed together, fists locking together in a battle of supremacy. Both the Goliath and the Titan Shifter were equally matched. He noticed that unlike Titan Shifters, that the thing in front of him actually had what had to be realistic weight for a creature of its size, making it a massive problem. The Armored Titan had to bury its feet into the ground, latching on with crystal claws at the end of each toe, stopping his movement all together. The two pushed and strained, unable to overcome the other. Suddenly the Goliath reared back, almost like it was about to bellow again. However, something felt different. The Armored Titan began to rapidly to harden its body, the crystalline armor forming around the nape and joints as a wave of blue flame engulfed his body. The Titan roared in pain, parts of his body being consumed in the inferno, at the same time his regeneration tried to heal that constant damage, only making the blaze burn hotter, as it had more fuel to grow from. The pain nearly made the Titan Shifter pass out on the spot. His armor was becoming heated, his protection now becoming a weapon against him. He was knocked back as blaze out of Goliath's mouth finally ended. The Armored Titan's body was barely holding together. All that was left was the armor, the boiling skin underneath, the skeleton, and his legs had enough muscle left for him to run. And he was going to have to run. The one attack had turned an even fight into one that was unwinnable for the Armored Titan. But the Goliath wasn't going to let him run. He would try to finish it now. Unless he distracted it, there was no way for him to escape. The Titan's near the wall would work perfectly. As the Goliath stomped forward, the Armored Titan let out an ear piercing yell, shattering any glass that remained intact.
Luke paused as the Armored Titan let out an ear shattering yell. What was it? A scream of defiance? A scream for mercy? Luke took another step forward, before a rumbling reached his ears. He turned his head to sound in annoyance. 'What now?' he thought, before his form gave a look of shock. Of course. The yell was to make the Titan's notice it. To hunt it. To hunger for it's flesh. The Armored Titan broke into a run, heading toward the insurgent group. It was clever. Luke could either chase down the Armored Titan and finish it, or he could stop the oncoming horde of Titan's from finding Eren's scent. The mission was to protect Eren until he could plug the breach, the Armored Titan was merely a side objective. While Luke didn't like the choice he was presented with, he knew what mission was. If the Horde got to Eren, it was game over. He could kill the Armored Titan another day. Luke roared, as the Armored Titan run out of sight. It was time to use the trick he would save for their next clash. Luke charged forward towards the Titan horde, body encasing itself in bright orange flames.
Jane and Lilith kept to the wall, running alongside the dozen or so soldiers that were part of the elite squad. They ignored most of the chatter, due to them knowing what their strategy already was. However the relative peace was interrupted by the girl with silver hair from before.
"You two have any idea what the recruit Alexander or yourselves are going to do during this?" she asked, her voice having an edge of mistrust.
"Look, Alexander is going to do whatever a Gorgon does," Lilith said, almost annoyed, "For us, it's simple. I'll cover people from the ground while Jane rains death from above." The conversation would've continued, but they were interrupted by a shout.
"Here! Let's Go!" The order went out, the humans and Alexander leaping off the wall as mist encased Jane, taking the form of Kraken. Lilith lept onto her back, settling on the spines as Jane pushed off, following the humans from far above. The human's speed through the air, using their gear to perform twists, twirls, and flips as they approached the boulder. Mist began to enshroud Alexanders body as Eren bit down on his thumb, calling forth a massive bolt of lightning as the three meter Gorgon slammed into a tower, webbing spreading out near its feet, allowing it to stick to the surface. Alexander seemed to blank for a second, before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Eren however, wasn't so lucky. Eren's mind was trapped within itself, likely to it being his first full and willing transformation. The massive body turned around, facing his sister, before attempting the through a punch at her. The punch was stopped, however, by a mass of acidic webbing that covered the Rogue Titan's arm, leading back to Alexander, who was using his own strength to keep Eren's Titan form in check. However, the Titan still had some degree of intelligence, grabbing the webbing before pulling, ripping the Gorgon from it's post, before swinging it in an arc, sending it crashing into a building a few meters away. The Gorgon let out a roar of pain as it's body was slammed into the ground at high speeds, knocking the air out of it's lungs. However, the webbing gave Mikasa enough time to dodge the second attack.
Lilith snarled from her position on Jane's back. She was going to save herself to kill a large group of Titans from above, but this was far more important. Eren's rampage was something she didn't think of. But it was a problem now. She lept off Jane's spine, body encasing itself in mist. Her body hit the ground mere moments after Alexander was sent crashing into a building, his body leveling the structure. Her Behemoth form, however, did even more damage, knocking over several nearby buildings and creating a crater as her thirty ton bulk smashed into the ground. Eren's Titan form still had enough mental power to notice the much larger threat, but not enough to know that fighting a Behemoth was a fight he couldn't win. He threw a punch at Lilith's armored head, only to have most of it's arm to be torn apart on impact. Lilith's body snorted, before gearing up a punch of her own. The fist connected with the Rogue Titan's stomach, nearly ripping a hole in it's gut, sending the Titan Shifter's body back, slamming into the rock it was meant to move. The blow seemed to do something, as the body no longer moved, but still regenerated from it's wounds. However, the racket had begun to draw out the Titan's that hadn't noticed the humans arrival. The largest, a twelve meter Titan, was torn in half by a bolt of lightning. Alexander, finally pulling himself to his feet, covered a five meter Titan in webbing, slowing the creature down as the acid gradually devoured it's flesh. He unleashed another attack, spitting out a spray of acid from his mouth, covering the creature. He pounced at the now distracted and overwhelmed target, tearing out it's nape in a single strike. The ten meter however, had gotten close to Eren. Lilith wasn't going to let that happen. She slammed both her fists into the ground, unleashing a line of earth and fire, destroying the Titan's feet and sending it airborne as it fell into the attack. Her tongue then shoot forward, sticking to the airborne Titan like a frog's tongue to a fly, before reeling the creature in. The Titan was forced into the ground, barely able to move as the Behemoth reared up and flattened it's nape.
The human's on top of the wall and those distracting the Titan's watched in awe and fear at the fight before them. The massive Goliath stood alone against the Armored Titan, and was holding it's own. Whether it was a testament to the Goliath's power or the Armored Titan's, nobody could tell. The Goliath, on one hand, had slaughtered multiple Titan's easily, and the Armored Titan was barely scratched by it's blows. However, The Armored Titan was one of the Titan's that shattered the Walls, and the Goliath was able to shrug off its blows with ease. The buildings throughout the area had been turned into nothing more than rubble by the combatants sheer force. However, the two remained almost evenly matched, both unable to truly break the other's defenses. That was until the Goliath unleashed its most powerful weapon. The ability to breath fire. The Armored Titan was nearly incinerated, it's body heavily battered and burned from the blaze. A cheer went up from the soldiers on the wall. The Armored Titan was about to meet it's end. However, the Titan suddenly emitted a powerful scream. Then a rumbling was heard as the Armored Titan began to run off. However, that was no longer a concern. All the Titan's that they had lured into a corner where now running after it.
"Do not engage!" Pixis shouted. Luke's head turned between the retreating Armored Titan and the incoming Titan's, trying decide whether it was worth to pursue. However, the Goliath turned to face in the incoming swarm, flames beginning to twist and turn around him. The blaze encased his body as he leapt forward into the mass of Titans. Ian gritted his teeth. His scans showed that the flames around the Goliath close to four-hundred degrees fahrenheit. The human's wouldn't be how much help.
"I'm going in," Ian said, turning to Pixis, as the man nodded. Another small group had been sent out to help the away team, despite the flare saying a mission failure. Ren had been sent as well as additional muscle, and they would likely need it. The suit resealed itself, as Ian leapt off the wall, firing off his thrusters as he fell. His cannon roared to fly as he skirted around the horde of Titan's, shells piercing and detonating in their napes.
Alexander slammed into the side of a nearby tower as Gorgon's form enveloped his body. His body paused as webbing spun out underneath his feet, keeping his new form's bulk attached to the structure. He felt something pang within himself. Something deep. Something dark. Something primal. He felt pangs of hunger throughout his body. The massive insectoid shook its head and blinked. His vision was weird. Almost like he had a different number of eyes on each side of his head. The creature's eight eyes blinked slowly, trying to acclimate itself to it's new vision. It's eyes finally cleared to a sight that should have been impossible. Eren's massive Titan form as about to attack Mikasa. Alexander struggled to think of anything that might stop the attack, until he remembered that Lilith had told him to act naturally. So he did. The feeling was strange as he shoot webbing around Eren's arm, using his newfound strength to keep the Titan in check. The stalemate didn't last long, however. The Rogue Titan grabbed hold of the webs, before yanking the Gorgon off it's perch, sending arcing through the air and crashing into a nearby house. Alexander let out a roar of pain from the force, his thin and underdeveloped armor shattering under the force of the blow. He shook off the pain as a five Meter Titan approached nearby. The Gorgon acted on instinct, again unleashing acidic webbing at it's foe, pinning it in place. Next, Alexander felt a strange substance beginning to build in his throat. He opened his mouth, letting out a stream of pure acid, covering his target, causing it to roar in pain as he pounced at the Titan's unprotected nap, teeth crushing down as his mouth filled with Titan blood and flesh.
Even after Ren had joined the fight, the situation was utter hell. Eren still hadn't gotten up, forcing the Evolved to do whatever they could to try and hold the enemy back. Jane's Banshee Mines and Lightning Bolts struck at any enemy within her massive range, delivering their destructive payloads. Alexander aided her further, slowing down Titan's with his acidic webs, and forcing Titan's to walk through highly corrosive acid to get to their human prey. Lilith stayed with as many humans as she could, her Rock Wall giving the soldier's under her protection additional mobility and a safe haven, all the while using her tongue to bring Titan's to her or get a soldier out of a bad situation. Alongside this her offensive attacks against any Titan was either her long range Lava Bomb, or the extremely powerful Fissure, which knocked even the massive Titan's airborne. Ren used her speed, using Warp Blast to pick off lone target's, her Decoy to provide her with cover when she gathered up the wounded, using her Abduction to save soldiers at nothing shorter than the last second, and when a group of Titan's backed a human into a corner, she would unleash her powerful Supernova, tearing the enemy to pieces. The human's, despite the fact they didn't want to admit it, we're beginning to become used to simply luring a Titan to one of their allies, and have them do the rest. It was something they shouldn't get used to, but the humans wanted to stay alive just as much as they wanted to do their job, and the Evolved made it easier to do both. But, once the earth began to quake, there was a pause on the battlefield. Eren had finally begun to move, carrying a massive boulder above his head. The humans had begun to rally at the sight of their impending , the fight had become harder than ever, the Titan's trying to converge on Eren. Even more starting for the Evolved was how much strain his body was under. His regeneration was only thing keeping him standing, as the weight of the boulder inflicted damage onto Eren's muscles. His body was constantly pouring out steam as he carried the boulder closer and closer to the gate. Jane hovered above the boulder, rigging it with mines incase a normal Titan slipped through their defenses. Lilith attacked any Titan far or near, crushing any who dared get close to the Titan Shifter, while incinerating distant threats. The other's did whatever they could to either get a Titan's attention or outright kill one, but their numbers were rapidly decreasing. However, the defense proved fruitful, with Eren successfully slamming the boulder into the gate, sealing the breach. The remainder of the human force and the Evolved formed a ring around Eren as Armin began pulling him out of his Titan form. Jane herself had landed on the ground, carrying several wounded on her back, and ready to carry Eren as well. Lilith's form began to dissipate, she herself running on fumes.
"Everybody up and out!" She shouted, and the human soldiers obeyed, using their 3D Maneuvering Gear to quickly scale the wall. Alexander did the same, returning to his human form, before shooting straight up the wall. He turned around the moment he heard a roar of pain and a loud crash. Two Titan's had pushed an exhausted Ren out of the way, sending the Wraith's body into a damaged wooden tower. The two were closing in on Lilith, Mikasa, Armin, a distracted Jane who was already partially airborne, and an unconscious Eren. However, before he could turn around, both Titan's fell in a flash, bodies falling to the ground almost seemingly without reason. Until one man landed on one of the bodies, green cloak with two wings on the back. One white, and the other Black. The Wings of Freedom. The Symbol of the Survey Corps. Ren had thankfully returned to her human form and warped back into Lilith's arms, staring at the man almost like she reconsidered him. Jane had returned, picking up Eren and the others, before heading back the wall, where she passed out from exhaustion.
For the first time, mankind had won against the Titans. With the appearance of a Titan Shifter in their ranks, and the arrival of the monstrous Evolved, Trost, and by extension, Wall Rose, where saved. However, for than a hundred soldiers were slain or had gone missing during the battle. Many of the Titan's that remained near the wall where mopped up by artillery and the might of the Goliath itself. However, the damage to Trost, and the lives lost, had prevented the victory from being a clean victory. But for once, mankind had a chance at victory against the mighty Titans.
And that is the end of the Battle for Trost arc. Quite glad that it's over, actually. I don't have to check out online videos to make sure I get stuff right for this next one. And no, I'm not skipping straight to the courtroom at all. We have the choosing of Division, a date to see, watching Ian perform his first diplomatic measure and a few other things. Hope you enjoyed, and see you next time.