Age of Titans Chapter 17 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Age of Titans! Now that the breach in Shiganshina has been sealed, it’s time to live test some Titan abilities in the field while exterminating as many Pure Titans as possible! The Survey Corps only has a couple of days before they need to head back to Wall Rose to prove their success of sealing the breach and further the plan to overthrow the current regime. What will be the reaction of the people to the success of the expedition?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 17 – Abilities and Extermination, Return

Eren slowly opened his eyes as he returned to the waking world. Yesterday had been rather emotional for him and Mikasa after returning to their childhood home and finding out about his father’s past life outside the Walls. It was little surprise that they’d both cuddled up together and fallen asleep last night surrounded by their family.

‘Speaking of which…’ Eren looked down and saw Mikasa on his right side, his arm around her waist, and her head on his shoulder as she slept. On his right, Hange had cuddled close, the nearly manic woman had ‘read the room’ as it were last night and did her best to offer Eren and Mikasa comfort. Against Mikasa’s back was Sasha, their ever-hungry lover having hugged Mikasa close and trapping Eren’s arm that was around Mikasa’s waist. Against Hange’s back was Annie, the blonde warrior had one arm over Hang’s side to rest against Eren’s chest. And on Eren’s chest lay Historia, the smallest of his lovers often taking that spot for herself when she wasn’t being cuddled by Ymir all night. Thinking about his tallest lover, Eren’s eyes looked around the room and spotted her out of bed, in nothing but her panties, as she got ready to put her uniform on.

“Good morning.” Ymir said softly as she smiled at Eren when she noticed him awake and watching her. “Sleep well?”

Eren nodded once and spoke just as softly to not disturb the women. “Yeah, it was just a bit…emotional, yesterday.”

Ymir’s smile shrank a little. “I can imagine.” She nodded her head to the cuddle pile on the bed. “Plenty of love and support to help both you and Mikasa through it, right?”

“Yeah.” Eren smiled warmly at his sleeping lovers. “The view first thing in the morning isn’t bad either.” He joked with a quiet chuckle.

Ymir posed a little, letting Eren see her tits and the curve of her waist and hips. “Glad you think so~” She purred quietly.

“We should get up, I guess.” Hange spoke lowly, revealing that she was awake as well. She opened her eyes and blinked the sleep away before looking up at Eren. “Mm…” The kiss first thing in the morning was something that she could definitely get used to. “Good morning to you too, Eren.” She smiled warmly at him.

Sasha was awakened by the noise and movement and slowly sat up, her hair disheveled, before looking around blankly for a second. “Is it breakfast?”

“Soon enough.” Annie said with a yawn as she also sat up. “She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around the room, seeing sunlight peeking in through the curtains. “Looks like we woke up on time.”

One of the ‘perks’ of being in Shiganshina was the fact that Erwin was suspending the requirement that the Shifters sleep below ground. Not only because he trusted in Eren and the others, but also because the entire Survey Corps were Titan Shifters now and the rule wouldn’t be enforced going forward anyway. That had let Eren and the girls find a nice second floor house in the designated ‘camp’ area that the Survey Corps had set up in Shiganshina and bunk there. The bed was large enough for all of them as well, probably having been the home of a wealthy merchant before the breach.

“Hmm?” Historia tried to snuggle deeper into Eren’s chest. “Five more minutes…”

“Ten…” Mikasa doubled the number and refused to open her eyes as she lay cuddled up with Eren.

Hange laughed as she slowly got out of bed after Annie. “No can do. We have a lot of work to do today and tomorrow before we head back to Wall Rose to prove that we’ve sealed the Shiganshina breach. So many tests…” She had her manic excitement slowly returning to her eyes already.

“Breakfast first.” Sasha said with a pout as she started getting dressed for the day.

Eren got to enjoy watching all of his loves in nothing but their panties as they got their uniforms ready. Mikasa and Historia both reluctantly leaving his warmth to get dressed as well.

Not that the ladies were left wanting or anything. They’d never grow tired of seeing Eren’s muscled body clad in only his boxers first thing in the morning. The ‘good morning’ kisses he gave each of them only making it better. A few of the girls liked to take advantage of the morning affection to get a deeper kiss when they could as well. Mikasa and Annie both pulling away from Eren’s lips and lightly licking their own after their kisses.

As the group left the house they’d bunked in for the night, a smell caught their noses and had Sasha drooling almost instantly.

“MEAT?!” Sasha bolted towards the source of the smell and the rest of the ‘family’ had to jog after her quickly. Sasha’s love of meat could get…rough (violent) if left to her own devices. Which was more likely as it was breakfast and they hadn’t eaten since dinner last night. Sasha’s appetite was truly a thing of wonder, given that she never seemed to gain any weight.

‘Except in the good places.’ Eren thought to himself as he had hands-on experience to know that Sasha’s breasts and ass had both gotten a bit bigger since they’d started this relationship.

In the center of the camp area was a large canopy that had been made from multiple tarps that the Survey Corps had brought along with them, along with materials found around Shiganshina yesterday. Beneath the canopy, tables and chairs had been arranged, also taken from various businesses and homes around the nearby area. Ten soldiers were on cooking detail for breakfast and had a few large pots cooking over fires. The smell of meat grilling was in the air now that they were closer and all of them marveled a bit at Sasha’s sense of smell.

The source of the meat turned out to be a few deer. A couple of the Squad Leaders had gone out earlier with their Titan forms to hunt and catch the deer. Ostensibly it was to bolster their rations and make sure that every soldier was well-fed as they continued their mission. But in truth, it was because everyone wanted meat after spending all day yesterday making it to Wall Maria and Shiganshina. This breakfast ‘feast’ was to reward the soldiers for their hard work, boost morale, and honestly, just because meat was such a rarity for soldiers and it was nice to be able to eat it.

“Commander Erwin, good morning, sir!” Eren and his family saluted when they saw Erwin sitting at a table near the cooking detail reading one of the books that they’d found in the basement yesterday.

“At ease.” Erwin gave the group a nod. “Eat your fill, we have plenty and we’ll be busy today.” He wrote down a note about something he’d just read from the book on a piece of paper. The stack of papers on the table suggested that Erwin had been at this for quite a while already.

“Sir… Did you sleep at all?” Hange asked, knowing that it was usually her that pulled all-nighters when she got into her Titan research.

Erwin nodded briefly, not stopping his writing. “Six hours. I’ve been up and taking notes of the new information that we’ve acquired since just before dawn.”

“Go get your food.” Levi spoke with his normal flat tone as he and his squad sat at the table that Erwin was at, food on wooden trays that had definitely been appropriated from the old restaurant down the street. Breakfast today consisted of a plate of grilled venison, a bowl of soup, cups of water and tea, and a roll of the bread that the Survey Corps had brought along as part of their field rations.

Sasha was quick to get in line, a big smile on her face.

Annie, Mikasa, Ymir, Historia, Hange, and Eren all nodded to Erwin as the Commander was clearly busy reading through all of the information that Grisha Yeager had left in the basement. They got in line behind Sasha and grabbed trays to collect their breakfast.

Sitting at one of the mismatched tables, this one a long one from the same restaurant that the wooden trays had come from, the family began to eat, and were shortly joined by Franz and Hannah, as well as Jean, Marco, and Connie.

“Can you believe we get fresh meat on this expedition?” Connie commented with a smile and a laugh.

“It is surprising.” Hannah agreed as she cut herself a piece of the venison. “But we should be thankful that some of the squad leaders decided to do this for us.”

Marco nodded in agreement as he finished chewing his food and swallowed. “It’s definitely not what I expected… Though I was also planning to join the Garrison initially…until the Trost breach.” He still recalled the terror of that day, when they’d all been tossed onto the front lines as barely graduated cadets that hadn’t even been assigned to a Branch yet. What had changed his mind about what Branch to join had been seeing the ‘Titan-killing Titans’ and then learning that they were his friends that he’d spent the last three years with as a cadet.

“Does anyone know what exactly the ‘tests’ that we’re supposed to be doing today are?” Jean asked curiously after a drink of water to clear his throat.

“I’m glad that you asked!” Hange had a bright smile on her face and her brown eyes were nearly sparkling.

What followed was a lengthy explanation of the day’s plans as decided upon last evening by the upper command of the Survey Corps. The various abilities of the Nine Types would be tested as they exterminated as many Pure Titans as possible. Everything from the Hardening ability to the unique features of some of the Beast Types, as well as both Levi and Mikasa’s ‘Ackermann Variants’ and what they could do.

“Wait… Does that mean I’ll be using my power too?” Franz asked Hange once the stream of words finally slowed down.

“Of course!” Hange was leaning over the table to smile at Franz. “You’re our only Colossal Type! We need to know how you handle combat against other Titans so that we can deploy you strategically and with the least risk to you and the rest of our forces.”

Annie pulled Hange back into her seat by the collar of her jacket.

Franz looked at Hannah for a moment before looking back at Hange. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s what I love to hear!” Hange proclaimed with a bright smile (that was still a bit unnerving for everyone else that saw it).

-Within Wall Maria ~ The Lost Land-

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” Annie’s Titan form screamed so loudly that those who weren’t transformed had to cover their ears to not be nearly deafened.

Hange had a pad of paper and a pen at the ready to take notes on the Female Types’ ability to summon Pure Titans with a scream.

It didn’t take long before a cloud of dust could be seen rising up from the distance. The slight shaking of the ground as a horde of Titans got closer and closer was felt by everyone, the approaching footsteps started to sound like distant thunder from the sheer number of Pure Titans rushing towards Annie’s position.

“This is amazing!” Hange was writing quickly as the first Titans of the approaching horde started to become visible as they ran towards Annie. “Look at how many there are!”

Erwin didn’t share Hange’s enthusiasm, but did make a mental note of the abilities usefulness in gathering a large number of Pure Titans together at once. It would certainly make exterminating all of them within Wall Maria much easier if they didn’t have to go hunting for them one by one. “Shifters, prepare for combat!” He gave the order to those that were already transformed. The soldiers that weren’t were currently stationed atop the Wall nearby to watch the battle.

“RAAAAHHH!!!” One of the Pure Titans running towards Annie’s Titan form bellowed.

A crystal-like coating of Hardening covered Annie’s right leg as she brought it up into a perfect roundhouse kick. The Pure Titan’s head was decapitated and went flying off to the side. As the body collapsed to the ground, steam billowing from its severed stump of a neck, Annie stomped on the nape and splattered it across the ground. The Pure Titan’s body emitted a cloud of steam as it began to break down and disintegrate.

Armor Titans grouped up to form a strong defensive line between the horde and their fellow soldiers. This was to be the first test of using military tactics with Shifters in live combat against Pure Titans. Erwin had delegated roles to each Type based on their strengths and abilities.

Bam

Bam

Bam

Bam

Bam

Heavy armored fists smashed the heads of the fastest Titans among the horde. The bodies of some of the smaller Titans went rag dolling through the air and crashed into other approaching Titans. With the horde’s charge staggered, Attack and Female Titans moved forward from behind the Armored Titans, while Jaw and Beast Titans moved in from the flanks.

“GAAAHHH!!!” A Fourteen Meter Pure Titan bellowed at Jean’s Attack Titan.

Wham

The Pure Titan’s head was rocked by the right cross to the chin from Jean’s Titan form. As it staggered, Jean low kicked it’s leg, tripping it and sending the Titan crashing to the ground hard. A powerful stop on the nape, followed by another, and then another, finished the Pure Titan off.

“YAAUUHH!!!” A Twelve Meter Titan tried to grab Connie’s Jaw Titan form.

Snik

It lost both hands for its trouble as Connie’s large, sharp claws easily cut through Titan flesh and bone. The speedy Shifter swung up the other Titan’s body, using his claws on both hands and feet to easily climb, and then bit out the nape with his powerful fangs before the Pure Titan could react. Connie kicked off its back, sending the dead Titan crashing to the ground, before he went after his next target.

Samuel’s Lynx Titan pounced on a Fifteen Meter Titan, knocking it to the ground and tearing out its nape with his sharp claws on his Titan form’s larger than normal hands. With his first Titan dead, he stood quickly to grab the outstretched arms of another Titan and grapple it. With a quick twist of his body, pivoting his feet at the same time, Samuel slammed his knee into the Titan’s stomach and as it hunched over, drove his fangs into its nape, and crushed it in his feline jaws. The Titan’s body started to steam as Samuel let it drop to the ground, dead.

“GAAAAHHH!!!” A Thirteen Meter Titan charged at Thomas’s Titan form with a bellow.

Thomas’s Attack Titan form threw a jab, socking the Pure Titan in the face and making it stagger a step backwards. A second punch slammed into the Titan’s chest before Thomas threw his hands over its shoulders and clasped the back of its neck with both hands. A knee strike to the gut folded the Titan over and Thomas wasted no time in using the dominant position to crush the nape between his hands. As the Titan fell dead, Thomas quickly chose his next target and moved forward to take it out.

Mikasa was like a tornado of death as her Blade Titan used its two swords to decapitate every Titan around her. Every strike that didn’t hit the nape of a Pure Titan was followed up with a quick stab that finished the job a half-second later. A Twelve Meter Titan tried to grab her from behind, but lost its right arm for the attempt, its head went flying a second later, the vital nape cut cleanly in two by the swing.

Shnk

A large spear made of white hardening was stabbed through the neck and out of the nape of a Fourteen Meter Titan. The Titan wielding the weapon wasn’t a Warhammer Type though. It was Hannah’s Female Titan wielding the colossal weapon as she thrust the spear into a second Titan’s neck in the same way, killing it instantly.

Another experiment that Erwin, Hange, and Levi had agreed to was to see if the weapons made by Warhammer Types could be wielded by other Titans like regular weapons. Annie had said that it had been done before, in the Eldian wars of the past, so now was the time to experiment and find out just how long a hardening weapon would last outside of a Warhammer Type’s hands. So far, the spear had lasted several minutes without showing any signs of damage, but all hardening eventually broke down if it wasn’t being maintained. Any and all data needed to be collected for future endeavors related to the extermination of the Pure Titans and the protection of Paradis Island.

It was only about eight minutes from contact with the horde until the battle ended.

Every Pure Titan had been wiped out and there were no casualties amongst the soldiers. A large cloud of steam rose high into the air from all of the decaying Titan corpses, including the empty bodies that the Shifters of the Survey Corps left behind.

“We’ll be taking a break before moving on to the next round of extermination!” Erwin called out to the entire Survey Corps. “Team Two prepare for deployment shortly! We’ll be going with the same formation that Team One used!”

“Yes sir!” The members of Team Two called back quickly.

The soldiers that had been part of Team One quickly gathered and lined up in front of the squad leaders to report their number of kills. It was necessary to bring back good results from this expedition so that no one could say that placing the ‘Titan-killing Titans’ under the Survey Corps’ command was a mistake. The sealing of the Shiganshina breach was already a massive accomplishment, of course, but bringing back evidence of significant Titan extermination within the lost lands of Wall Maria was also incredibly good now that no more Titans could get inside through the breach.

If they could get the extermination numbers high enough, then people, both civilians and other soldiers, would see it for what it was: the significant first step in retaking the land within Wall Maria. That would surely boost morale and hope in the people, and people that had hope were more willing to fight for their futures. A surge in military recruitment was sure to follow, which would be desperately needed in the coming years.

“Looks like Mikasa won this time, Annie.” Ymir teased Annie after the numbers were compiled. “Thirty-nine all on her own.”

Annie just gave Ymir a flat look, not deigning to give her ‘sister’ a response.

“Annie wasn’t that far behind, Ymir.” Historia said, looking up at Ymir pointedly. “Thirty-five is still amazing.”

“Yep!” Sasha agreed with a bright smile for Annie. “We’ve got the top two in Team One!”

Eren grinned at the playful competitiveness among his loved ones. “What do you think, Armin? Can either of us beat thirty-nine?”

Armin looked at Eren for a second before looking out at the cloud of steam that was slowly shrinking as more and more of the Titan corpses disintegrated. “Maybe? But it’ll be difficult. We are supposed to be focusing on formation tactics with these exterminations.”

“Don’t be a killjoy, Armin.” Connie laughed as he patted his friend and fellow Jaw Titan Shifter on the back. “We can focus on formations and compare numbers afterwards!” He looked a little smug. “Speaking of… You’re looking at Mr. Fourth Place from Team One! Twenty-nine kills!”

Jean sighed at Connie’s laughter. “Is this really what you want to focus on? Armin has the right of it; we should be focusing on our formations and tactics over the numbers.”

Connie smirked a little at Jean. “Says Mr. Sixth Place.”

“You little…” Jean glared at Connie’s smug face.

With Erwin, Levi, Hange, and the rest of the Squad Leaders an air that was very unfamiliar for an expedition had settled in. One of hope and high morale, compared to the normal dismal air of fear, stress, and sadness. By this time in previous expeditions, they’d lost at least twenty or thirty soldiers, and were normally looking to return back to the Walls with only a bit more progress on the route that they were establishing through Titan territory to show for it.

“This is almost weird.” Mike mentioned as he watched the soldiers, especially the new recruits, talk and laugh amongst themselves. Such a thing had almost never happened in the Survey Corps since he joined, not while on expedition at any rate.

“It’s a better outcome than we’ve ever had before.” Ness said with a small smile on his face. “We should encourage the morale and keep it high.”

Levi’s expression barely changed, even as he watched the soldiers of Team Two preparing to deploy. “As long as they remember that this is still Titan territory and that we’re not even close to done, then it’s fine. Any lack of discipline can be corrected as well to make sure the chain of command is upheld and operations run smoothly.” Left unsaid was that Levi would thoroughly enforce said discipline himself if any of the soldiers got out of line while the Survey Corps acclimated to the addition of Shifter power.

“High morale is new for the Survey Corps, but we should make the most of it.” Erwin said as he saw the hope and vigor within his soldiers as they eliminated more Titans in one operation than most expeditions did in their entirety. “Hange, after Team Two has their round, gather all of the Female Types and Franz. We’ll set him up a bit farther from the Wall and use all of the Female Titans to draw in as many Pure Titans as possible. We need to see how effective the Colossal is at dealing with other Titans and get a better idea of what we can realistically expect in live combat.”

“Yes sir.” Hange accepted her orders quickly and made a note of them on her pad of paper for good measure.

-Later-

Franz stood in the center of a semi-circle of all the Female Titans that the Survey Corps possessed. His back was facing Wall Maria a significant distance away, but the space between the Wall and here had already been cleared out, twice, by Team One and Team Two, so no Titans would come from that direction.

“Are…you…okay…Franz?” Hannah asked through her Titan as she looked at her lover.

“I’m fine, Hannah.” Franz nodded to her with a small smile, the best that he could give her right now. “Ready when you are, Squad Leader Marlene.” He said to the Fourteen Meter Female Titan with the light brunette hair that went down just past her shoulders.

Marlene nodded to Franz and spoke through her Titan. “On my mark.” She held up her hand and all of the Female Titans inhaled deeply. When Marlene dropped her arm, every single Female Titan unleashed a scream.

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

The sound traveled far and wide across the quiet lands of Wall Maria. Had there been any mountains, the sound would’ve definitely reverberated to an even greater degree, but on the flat lands around Shiganshina, the sounds spread unimpeded.

Franz took his hands off his ears and still had a bit of ringing in them from the sheer volume that the gathered Female Titans had unleashed.

Hannah gave Franz a smile through her Titan form before the group of Female Titans ran back towards Wall Maria as fast as they could.

It didn’t take long for Franz to see the large clouds of dust rising up from the distance. He swallowed once to try and settle his nerves as the massive horde, greater than any that they’d called up with the Female Titan’s ‘scream’, appeared on the horizon. Franz did his best to stay calm, knowing that he needed to focus to transform. A clear need would always help when it came to Titan Shifting; that was what Annie had taught the entire Survey Corps.

“Holy shit… There’s got to be almost a thousand of them!” Connie said in horror as the massive number of Titans rushed towards Franz’s location.

“Is this okay…?” Marco asked with clear worry and concern in his voice.

Mina looked fearful for Franz’s safety as more and more Pure Titans continued to charge across the flatlands. “I know he’s supposed to be the Colossal…but that’s too many, isn’t it?!”

“GAAAAUUUHHH!!!”

“HAAUUUHHH!!!”

“RAAAHHH!!!

The Titans bellowed as they charged towards Franz, getting closer and closer at great speed; their footsteps shaking the ground, tearing it apart as giant foot after giant foot ripped up the grass and dirt.

Franz flicked his ring blade open and slashed his finger when the Titans were only thirty meters away.

KRAKBOOM

The bolt that fell on Franz was bigger than any that most of the Survey Corps had ever seen. But the following blast drowned it out almost instantly. The shockwave from the explosion nearly shattered the earth all around where Franz had been. A massive cloud of smoke and steam erupted high into the air as intense heat filled the area, scorching the remaining grass black and turning all the small brush to ashes in an instant. The massive skeleton was already formed by the time the shockwave had crossed the flatlands and petered out against Wall Maria. Muscles had wrapped around the bones as the bodies of Titans began to hit the ground after being blasted away from the point of Franz’s transformation. Everything around the area was burning when the towering form of the Sixty Meter Colossal Titan stood tall.

“HOLY SHIT!”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“THAT’S THE COLOSSAL?!”

“IT WIPED THEM OUT!!!”

Indeed, the massive horde of Titans had been decimated just by Franz’s transformation. Any Titan below Thirteen Meters or so had been burned to nothing by the blast and the intense heat. Many of the larger Titans that had survived the flames and the blast had been thrown into the air and come crashing down, killing a number of them from the fall. Those that were still moving and slowly regenerating were on fire, hampering their ability to heal and in no condition to move.

Franz lifted his right foot and brought it down on a few of the remaining Titans that were trying to move, even as they burned. It was like crushing insects with the size disparity and the nearly shredded state most of the Pure Titans were in. Franz lifted his left foot and did the same, slowly starting to walk around the devastated area and finish off the last few Titans. The fact that he could do so just by walking around was not lost on the Survey Corps.

“I restate my opinion from the previous test: We deploy Colossal Titans only as a shock and awe first strike, or as a finishing blow to an entrenched enemy that we can’t overcome with conventional tactics.” Levi said as he watched the destruction that Franz had unleashed with just his transformation.

“Wouldn’t be much of an enemy left if they were anywhere near that…” Ness took his white bandana off his head in shock at what they’d all just seen.

Erwin nodded to both points before turning to watch Franz move in his Colossal Titan form some more. “Once he gives the signal, send the Female Titans back out to retrieve Franz when he exits his Titan form.”

“Yes sir.” Mike saluted and used his ODM Gear to scale down the wall to where the group of Female Titans was and relay the Commander’s orders.

-Evening ~ Shiganshina-

“This is so interesting…” Hange murmured as she was reading the ‘third book’ (called that because of its position in the hidden drawer being the furthest in the back) from the basement with Eren and the others in their room.  “Paradis has way more animal species than we thought!”

The first book of the three had contained information about Eldia and the history of the world as true as Grisha Yeager had been able to discover while living in the internment zone in Marley. The information had been gathered by hundreds of people over several years, and then compiled together with only what could be verified as true making it into the book.

The second book had contained information on nations and technology that had arisen in the century that the Eldians of Paradis Island had been locked behind the Walls. The camera that had taken the photograph had been detailed, things like iron ships, locomotives, railroads, air ships, war engines, and other things had been mentioned and detailed as much as possible with what information the Eldian resistance in Marley could find out. It brought to light the stark and vast difference a century of development could bring about.

The third book was on ecology and geography, one section of which was dedicated solely to everything that was known about Paradis Island before the last King Fritz had made the island a sanctuary (and a prison) for the Eldians that he’d brought with him. It detailed various plant life, animal species, and the lay of the land beyond the Walls as best as it was known over one-hundred years ago. There was even information about sea life that surrounded the island like sharks, fish, crustaceans, coral, eels, seals, and whales.

“We have deer, sheep, pigs, and cows in the Walls. But I don’t recall anyone in my village ever seeing these things called Elk or Moose before.” Sasha said as she saw the sketches on the page about the large animals. “I wonder what they taste like?”

“Only you, Sasha.” Ymir playfully snarked at her glutton of a lover.

Historia looked interested in the various sketches of the animals in this part of the book, a slight fascination with what lay beyond the Walls on Paradis Island was clear in her eyes. “Beavers in the rivers and otters in the sea? I don’t recall ever seeing any beavers within the Walls.”

“Maybe they were all hunted to extinction early on?” Annie theorized, vaguely knowing that beaver fur was a trading commodity before the aquatic rodents had become scarce in most parts of Marley.

Mikasa tilted her head slightly as she looked at the animals on the next page when Hange flipped it. “Owls are rare to see. But we’ve seen bats before.” She looked at Eren with a small smile, recalling a time when they were younger and had seen a few of the small flying animals hiding under the eaves of one of the buildings near their house.

“Hey… Do you think publishing this information and these sketches might affect the forms of some Beast Titans in the future?” Hange asked with a grin spreading across her face. The idea of MORE and varied types of Titans (even if they were all Beast Titans) excited her a lot.

Eren shrugged at the thought. “Since we don’t know for sure what causes the difference in each individual Beast Titan, we can’t say. But I don’t see a problem with spreading the truth of Paradis Island to everyone once we’re able to get rid of the current regime.”

“Swimming Titans… Flying Titans…” Hange’s eyes were nearly sparkling as she imagined them.

“Calm down a bit.” Annie nudged Hange lightly. “We still have to make it back from this expedition before we can continue the plan. Once Eren is King of the Walls, you’ll have time to see thousands of new Lesser Shifters awaken, I’m sure there will be plenty of Beast Types among them to look over.”

The group eventually settled down to sleep for the night. Annie and Sasha taking Erens’ sides tonight while being spooned from behind by Ymir and Mikasa. Hange grinned as she watched Historia cuddle up to Ymir’s back while she took Mikasa’s back. The blanket was thrown over them all and their shared body heat easily kept them warm through the night.

-Karanes District-

Bong

Bong

Bong

The large bell stationed near the gate rang to signal the return of the Survey Corps from their expedition. The Garrison soldiers having spotted the horses and wagons returning from atop Wall Rose.

Many people began to gather around and line the streets to see the return of the Survey Corps. In Trost, this had become an almost solemn affair in the last couple of years, as every time the Survey Corps went out, they always came back with fewer people and many injured. But as this was the first time that the Survey Corps had used Karanes District as their departure point, the excitement for the residents was still high. Most of them vividly recalled the amazing spectacle of seeing Eren Yeager transform into a Titan and kill a Ten Meter Titan right outside the gate and then give the citizens a military salute.

The gate rumbled slightly as it was raised to allow the returning Corps inside. The people of Karanes held their breath, hoping against hope that perhaps this expedition would finally have good results. That humanity could finally have hope again for their future. As the horses walked through the gate and onto the main street the people saw unharmed soldiers and undamaged wagons. Riding at the front of the Survey Corps was Commander Erwin, on his right was Levi and on his left Hange. But right behind Erwin, almost as if he was being escorted, was Eren Yeager, riding tall on his horse with a long object held under his left arm and wrapped in cloth. That got many people whispering and murmuring to each other in the crowd, wondering just what the Survey Corps had brought back from the lost lands.

It wasn’t until the last horse and soldier entered the gate and it fell closed behind them that the curiosity of the people was answered.

Eren slowly unwrapped the object that he was carrying, the cloth being handed off to Armin behind him, and then raised it high into the air for all to see.

“N-No way…” The Squad Leader of the Karanes Gate Garrison uttered in shock, his voice loud enough to get attention. “That’s…that’s the Shiganshina Garrison’s signboard…” He would know, having been a survivor of the Shiganshina Garrison and having seen that signboard everyday for the first eight years of his military career. “You made it to Shiganshina!”

That exclamation got the entire crowd talking, the volume quickly growing louder and louder.

“People of Karanes!” Erwin spoke loudly and with authority, quickly getting the civilians to quiet down. “The breach in Shiganshina has been sealed! The power of the ‘Titan Shifting Soldiers’ has made this expedition a success! Eren Yeager’s power has given humanity another victory over the Titans! We WILL finally reclaim Wall Maria!”

There was no sound for a moment, the entire street silent at the powerful proclamation.

“OOOOOUUUUUAAAAAHHHHH!!!” The crowd roared in exhilaration, joy, and hope. Reporters in the crowd were quickly writing down Erwin’s short speech, word for word, hoping to be the first to get their newspaper printed with this most monumental of headlines.

“Commander Erwin!” Several people in the crowd cheered for the Commander, throwing their fists into the air.

“Sur-vey Corps! Sur-vey Corps! Sur-vey Corps!” A chant started up amongst the crowd as the Survey Corp started riding again, moving through the main street to the cheers and adulation of the people. Many of the soldiers, especially the newest ones, smiled at the cheers for them and what they’d managed to accomplish on the expedition.

As the Survey Corps moved through Karanes District to cheers and well wished from the people. A shadowy figure quickly disappeared down a back alley to go make their own report. But had the figure stayed longer, they would’ve become aware of a small group of rather non-descript people starting up a different chant which quickly took over the cheering crowd.

“Yea-ger! Yea-ger! Yea-ger!” The people cheered for the one that had seemingly made the reclaiming of Wall Maria possible. A true symbol of hope for people that were once hopeless. In the Karanes District, any that may have thought that the ‘Titan-killing Titans’ were demons out to destroy humanity were now changing their opinion and joining the side that saw Eren Yeager and his fellow ‘Shifters’ as saviors of the people.

That opinion would spread like wildfire as the papers from Karanes District spread far and wide and it would reach every corner of the Walls when the official announcement was made in just a few hours by Darius Zackly, the Commander-in-Chief of the military. Just as planned, Eren Yeager would soon be recognized for the role he played in beginning the reclamation of Wall Maria and for his strengthening of the Survey Corps. The non-descript people in the crowd that had started the chant for Eren quickly and quietly slipped away without notice, their task completed as the chanting for Eren continued.

-End Chapter-

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Live combat testing of military tactics and formations against the Pure Titans have been done! Several experiments have also been completed to further strengthen the Survey Corps as they move forward.

What’s worse than a bunch of Titans with military training?

A Corps of Titans with military training and Titan-sized weapons!

The three books that Grisha left behind contain a vast amount of information about both the outside world and what was known of Paradis Island before the last King Fritz basically sealed it off from the outside world.

That could most certainly be useful for those that wish to see Eldia be reborn.

The people cheer for the return of the Survey Corps in good health and having completed the mission of their expedition! Eren’s name is in the forefront of people’s minds as the one to strengthen the Survey Corps and make retaking Wall Maria possible!

All according to plan.

The Reiss shadow government aren’t the only ones that can do the cloak and dagger stuff in the shadows to sway the public opinion!

Oh, they’re already losing, and they don’t even know it! Kek!

What’s next now that the Survey Corp should have at least a little downtime after returning from a successful expedition?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!