AUTHOR'S POV:
Rod titan kept crawling towards the wall, burning down every tree on it's path. It was using its two hands to move forward.
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"What the hell are you thinking, Erwin!?" Carsten yelled, grabbing Erwin's collar. "You won't evacuate the people from the city? That Titan will be on top of us by dawn!"
"That titan is an aberrant." Hange said with her bandaged hand.
"Why the hell does that matter?" Carsten yelled, looking at Hange.
"The Titan in question is only attracted to large group of people." Hange explained. "We call those outliers aberrant. It won't give a small village a second glance, but it's making a beeline for this fortified city. Therefore, if we were to evacuate the citizens to within Wall Sina, the Titan would change course to target them, bringing the wall down on its way. Finally, it would reach Mitras, the city with the highest population and deliver a devastating blow to humanity." All of them were looking at Hange intently. "On our way here, we attempted to use Eren Jaeger's power to control titans but Rod Reiss Titan did not react."
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Eren was standing on the wagon, facing Rod titan.
"Stop titan!" Eren shouted, throwing an empty punch. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! Stop right there!" He kept throwing another empty punches. "Listen to me, you hulking idiot! I am talking to you, Rod Reiss! You tiny Oldman!" He then gasped and looked down, defeated.
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"The only place we will be able to stop the Titan is just outside the walls of Orvud District." Erwin said. "That is why we must have the citizens remain here as bait. However this does not change the fact that our first duty as soldiers is to protect the citizens. In case we are unable to halt the target, we'll take precautions to ensure that nobody will be harmed. We'll announce an emergency evacuation drill for Orvud District so that they will all be ready to evacuate should the worst happen."
"It seems there's no other choice..." Carsten said after a moment.
"The target has the largest body we've ever seen Titan." Erwin said. "As such, it presents an easy target. Wall mounted cannons should be effective, but if they prove insufficient..." He turned to Eren. "The Survey Corps will throw everything we have at it."
Silence fell upon them and the Garrison soilders were tensed.
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By morning, the Garrison soilders had prepared cannons on top of Orvud District walls.
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The Rod titan was near the wall.
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"We will be using dummy Titans and cannons to assist in this drill!" A Garrison soilder announced, holding a paper to the crowd infront of her. "I'm sure an exercise on this scale will be novel to many of you, but we would ask you all to remain as calm as possible and follow all-"
"Ma'am!" An old man said, cutting her off. "I need to get started on opening my shop. You better let us go home."
"You won't be getting any customers today." The Garrison soilder said. "Take the day off."
"I can't do that, kid." The oldman said.
Whispers picked up among the crowd.
"Why do we need to do drills this far north anyway?" A man from the crowd asked.
"The military ousts the government, and now this?" About man said.
"What do you mean?" Another man asked.
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The old man was threatening the Garrison soilder by grabbing her collar.
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"I'm telling you, this is just their way of trying to show off their power." A man from the crowd said to his friend. "They want to prove that they're in control now that the fake king is gone."
"So you think there's no point having us sit through all this?" Another man asked.
"Yeah." His friend replied. "If this is how it's gonna be, I think I'd prefer the fake king."
"H-Hey Look over there!" A man shouted, ponting towards the wall.
All of them looked at the walls to see a huge cloud of smoke, heading towards the wall.
"Is that smoke?" The Garrison soilder asked.
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"Fire!" Carsten ordered, covering his ears.
The soilders fired the cannons at the Rod titan at Carsten's command.
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The Rod titan didn't stop even after getting hit by cannons. But, after few more hits, it stopped on it's track.
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The Survey Corps were looking at the sight, standing over the walls.
"Did they do it?" Erwin asked.
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The Garrison soilders, standing down the Walls with cannons gasped as the Rod titan started moving again.
"Fire!" One Garrison squad leader ordered, covering his ears.
The ground level cannons were fired at his command but it didn't have any effect on Rod titan.
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"The ground cannons are even less effective." Erwin said.
"Ofcourse they are." Levi said. "Even the wall mounted cannons can barely hit the nape despite having a better angle. What's going on here?"
"This team was cobbled together the canons were gathered last minute and they are disorganised." Erwin replied. "Moreover, this is a northern region. Unlike the troops on the front lines, they've never seen real combat. On the other hand, this is the best we can do in the current situation."
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The ground cannons were kept fired at Rod titan who didn't stop.
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"Yeah, that much is painfully obvious." Levi said. "I don't like that you've forced the Survey Corps into another risky gamble of a plan. Its string to feel like thats all you've got."
"Erwin! I brought the goods!" Hange shouted, approaching them.
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Some scouts were tying the barrels together with a net.
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"Here's all the gunpowder, ropes, and mating we could find. We just need to put it all together." Hange said. Then Moblit brought a barrel, connected to a cart in which ODM gear was connected. "Oh, and we made these! The other one is on the opposite side. When the anchors are fired, the triggers will lock in place and pull the barrel forward." She looked at Levi. "So is the artillery proving effective?"
Levi looked at Rod titan. "Slightly more effective than pissing on it would be."
"So we're really going to use these, then?" Hange asked.
"Levi, Faye, Sasha, Connie, you take care of the other side." Erwin ordered.
"Understood!" The Levi squad said and ran off.
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Hange was standing before the barrels while Mikasa and the other scouts were bringing more barrels.
Eren and Historia were making a net with the rope.
"Let's put these together just like, hm..." Hange said as Mikasa put one barrel on top of another. "Just like we're wrapping a present for someone special!"
Erwin approached them and stood behind Historia.
"I believe Levi has already informed you, Historia." Erwin said, slightly bowing down. "But assuming we survive this, I'd like to ask you to assume the throne as queen." Historia was looking ahead firmly. "Naturally, that means we can't have you on the frontline like this."
"I find the idea questionable." Historia said, firmly, looking up at Erwin. "Do you think the people are so naive they'll accept me by my name alone?" She stood up.
"Do you have something else in mind?" Erwin asked. "I understand your reasoning. But, I can't give you permission to engage in the combat."
"Commander, please!" Historia pleaded, stepping forward. "I finally know what is it that I have to do! That's why I am here right now."
Erwin turned around. "Well I suppose... With the state my body is in, I can't exactly stop you, can I?"
"Huh?" Historia said.
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"Fire!" Carsten ordered and wall cannons were fired at Rod titan who has so many holes in its body.
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Eren was making the net, kneeling. 'Even if I managed to plug Wall Maria, will that be enough to save humanity?' He stopped his work and stood up. He walked towards the edge of the walls, looking at the houses. 'Sometimes, I wonder... How my life would have been if dad never had the titan powers... It had been a while since I lived a normal life...' He sighed. 'The ones really out of luck are the rest of humanity... Living their lives while we are burdened with responsibilities... They're stuck, pinning their hopes on me...'
He noticed four kids who were looking up at the walls.
"Hey..." Eren called out, grabbing Eren's attention. "Don't the kids down there in the city remind you..." Armin stood up and walked up to him. "Of us on that day years ago."
"Yeah..." Armin replied while Eren bent on his knees to make net. "Nobody down there experts a Titan taller than the wall to attack them." He returned to do his work. "They might end up seeing the same we did back then." He pulled a rope, making a knot. "But the difference this time..." He looked at Eren. "Is that soldiers stand prepared to face the Titan. We get to play that role."
"Yeah." Eren said, looking down. "But I don't think any preparation back then would have made any difference..."
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Rod titan was now only a few metres away from the walls.
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The soilders leaned the cannons towards the Rod titan's nape.
"Remember to lead the target!" Carsten ordered. "Focus all cannons on it's nape!"
Cannons were fired towards the Rod titan nape, making it stop.
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"Good, the nape is exposed!" Carsten said. "Finish it with the next volley!"
Suddenly, hot steam arose from the Rod titan, forcing the soilders to cover their faces.
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"It's hot!" Connie exclaimed, standing beside Sasha, covering his face.
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"Shit, this isn't good." Levi said, covering his face. "The wind changed direction!"
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"Captain! I can't see a thing!" A female soilder said, holding a cannon.
"Doesn't matter!" Carsten said, covering his face. "The target is directly below us! Fire again!"
The soilders blindly fired below them.
Then more steam arose, causing them to cough.
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"Are we too late?" Erwin asked, looking down at the steam.
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Suddenly, a massive hand arose from the steam. The rod titan grabbed the wall, cracking it. The broken pieces fell to the ground, breaking nearby houses.
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The Rod titan lifted himself up, using the wall for support.
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The children on the ground gasped at the sight above them.
"It's a titan..." One of the kid said.
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The Rod titan straightened his upper body and revealed it's face which was half missing.
Flesh from his chest fell off to the wall.
The Rod titan let out a roar.
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The civilian panicked.
"It's a titan!" One man shouted while running.
"Wait! Please remain calm!" The Garrison soilder shouted.
"Shut up!" The old man shouted.
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The Rod titan stood tall to the wall, looking around.
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"Retreat! Everyone retreat!" Carsten yelled as soilders were running away from the massive palm.
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The Rod titan grabbed a chunk of Wall with it's fist and broke it.
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"Shit! It's gonna break through!" Carsten said, distressed. "The city I grew up in..." The looked down at the people as they were running. "Is going to be destroyed."
Levi put his hand on his shoulder, making him flinch.
"Stand back, soilder." Levi said and removed his hand. "We'll handle it from here."
On his back, Faye, Sasha and Connie were pouring water on themselves to cool down.
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"Eren, we are up." Armin said, turning to Eren who was stretching his neck.
"Right." Eren replied, massaging his shoulder.
Armin turned around and walked away.
"Armin..." Eren called out and Armin turned around. "There's one more thing that's changed since back then."
"Huh?" Armin said, confused.
"It might not be the most reliable, but now, humanity have two secret weapons!" He brought his palm closer to his mouth.
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The four children were running away from the wall when a blue lightning struck on the wall.
The four of them stopped and turned around.
"Is that another titan?" One of the kid asked, looking at the transformation of the attacking Titan who let out a roar.
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"We are ready to go!" Armin declared, holding the barrel while Mikasa and other scouts poured water on themselves.
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On the other side of the Rod titan, Sasha, Faye, Levi and Connie stood prepared with the barrel. Sasha was holding the handle of the cart.
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On another side, Armin was holding it with Mikasa beside him.
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Rod titan was standing still.
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Erwin pulled a flare gun. "Now..." The Rod titan groaned and and looked at him. "Begin the attack!" He shot a red flare to the sky.
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On his command, Armin and Sasha pulled the trigger and the anchors shot forward. Once the hooks were attached to the Rod titan's hands, Sasha and Armin pulled another trigger, causing the cart to head towards the titan hand.
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"Bombs away!" Sasha yelled.
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Both of the barrels hit the titan's hand and caused an explosion.
The Rod titan groaned as it lost it's balance due to the explosion.
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"Yes, it's losing it's balance!" Armin said, covering his forehead with his forearm.
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The Rod titan's lost it's balance and it's giant head hit the wall, cracking the wall a bit.
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"Eren!" Erwin yelled, holding up his hand.
The attacking Titan ran through the smoke and above Erwin towards Rod's head, holding the barrels full of gun powders.
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The four children watched him intently.
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The Rod titan glanced at the upcoming Attacking Titan.
It lifted it's head and opened it's mouth.
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'Jackpot!' Eren thought.
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The Attacking Titan let out a roar and threw the barrels of gunpowder straight inside Rod titan's throat.
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The Levi squad was watching intently.
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The attacking Titan ran to his left to avoid getting caught in the explosion.
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The barrels of gunpowder caused an explosion inside the Rod titan's body. After a moment, it blew up, sending chunks of flesh everywhere.
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"Now, use the maneuver gear to finish it off!" Erwin ordered, turning around.
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The survey corps shot their hooks at the flesh and began slicing them while Eren got out of his titan nape.
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The Rod titan nape flew by Historia's side.
'I'm sorry for doing like a child.' Historia gasped and flew towards it. 'But this is the first time I've defied my parents.' She shot her hook to the nape. 'This is my first fight with my father.' She flew forward and sliced it.
Her eyes narrowed as if she felt like killing her own father. Then she got the memories of Rod.
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Young Rod was locked up in a prison by his father, who was standing before him, outside.
"Father!" Rod called out, holding the bars. "Listen to me, father! We can put an end to all titans! Why? Why don't you understand!?"
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"You know, I will be fine, brother." Young Uri said with a smile to Rod. "Pray for me."
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Rod was kneeling before his maid, Alma while holding her apron. "Alma, you're the only one who understands me."
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"Leave it to me, father." Frieda said with a smile. "I won't lose to the ghosts of our ancestors!"
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Frieda came out from her titan nape with purple eyes.
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Rod was looking at the dead body of Alma.
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Historia gasped after getting out of her trance.
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The sliced nape exploded as people were looking at it.
Small chunks of flesh fell on the ground and rooftops.
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Historia fell on a wagon, unconscious.
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"The whole city's been saved!" One man from the crowd said, standing infront of Historia.
"Hey, Are you ok?" Another man asked.
"Are you injured?"
"Are you the one who finished that thing off?"
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Historia had her eyes covered with her forearm. 'Was that just my imagination?' She removed her hand. 'Am I really...' She sat up. 'Acting of my own free will?... I don't know anymore... But...' She stood up. 'Now I know I'm the sort of person that can't help getting carried away.'
"I am..." Historia said firmly. "I am Historia Reiss. The true ruler of the walls."
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Sun was setting while an injured Kenny slowly walked towards a tree, holding his stomach. Blood was rolled down his mouth and forehead.
'This is the end I guess...'
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