Two days later, thirty kilometers north of Shiganshina District, a column of riders thundered across the plains.
Over a hundred men and women of the Survey Corps rode hard, their horses slick with sweat, uniforms dark with dust and exhaustion.
"Finally," Lock muttered, squinting at the horizon.
In the distance, the air above the outer wall shimmered with smoke.
Black columns rose against the sky, rolling and thick—proof that the battle still raged.
"The signal fires are still burning," he murmured. "No retreat lines. That means Levi's still holding the wall."
But the thought that followed was darker: Or he's already fallen, and the enemy hasn't moved on yet.
No. Lock pushed that thought aside. He had known Levi Ackerman long enough to trust his skill—and his stubbornness.
The man could turn despair into strategy. If anyone could still be alive down there, it would be him.
And Kenny Ackerman was there, too.
For all his volatility, Kenny was as lethal as Levi—more, perhaps, when cornered. If both Ackermans were on the same battlefield, even the Beast Titan would find it hard to walk away unscathed.
That thought steadied him.
Lock glanced at Ymir riding beside him. She was pale with fatigue, her breathing rough, but her eyes burned with determination.
He didn't need to tell her to hold on—she already was.
A distant rider appeared on the horizon, galloping hard toward them.
Lock raised his hand, and the column slowed.
"It's Gunther!" Ymir called, eyes narrowing.
"Hold formation!" Lock commanded.
The line of horses reined in sharply, forming a V-shaped wedge behind him. The rhythmic pounding of hooves faded into the sound of the ind.
The lone rider—Gunther Schultz—reached them, blood covering his arm and face. He barely managed to lift his head before shouting, voice hoarse:
"Commander Lock—! You've made it! Hurry! Captain Levi's down!"
And then he fell from his saddle.
"Ymir!" Lock barked instantly. "Take the medical team! Get him stable!"
Ymir nodded, leaping from her horse. "Got it!"
"Everyone else—follow me!" Lock spurred his mount hard, the stallion screaming as it surged forward. He raised his arm high, signaling the charge.
The formation split wide behind him, fanning out across the plains.
Lock rode at the point—one lone figure cutting through the wind, cloak snapping like a banner.
"Don't die, Levi," he thought. "Not yet."
Behind him, Ymir barked orders to the medical squad as they lifted Gunther onto a stretcher. She glanced briefly at the carriage that carried Grisha and Dina Fritz—both exhausted, their faces drawn.
"I'm leaving the wounded to you two," she said sharply. "Keep him alive."
"Ymir—wait!" Grisha began, but she was already vaulting onto her horse again.
Her hand brushed the ring on her finger—a faint gleam of steel flashing. A small barb emerged from it, pricking her skin. The message was clear.
If Lock was in danger, she wouldn't hesitate to transform.
And she rode after him like a storm.
The Southern Wall — Shiganshina District
By the time Lock's vanguard reached the outer defensive line, the battlefield was chaos.
Smoke and dust veiled the air. Artillery shells roared from mounted guns along the parapets. The once-quiet city beneath Wall Maria had become a furnace of death and fury.
"Kill it! Keep firing!"
"Snipers, aim for the eyes!"
"Don't stop! Hold the line!"
Bodies littered the streets—some crushed, some burned. The smell of blood, gunpowder, and Titan steam hung heavy.
Levi's forces had dug in hard. The new Thunder Spear launchers were proving their worth, piercing Titan flesh and detonating in white-hot bursts. The defenders had even managed to damage multiple Pure Titans and harass the Car Titan with relentless crossfire.
Still, the Beast Titan loomed at the center of it all—massive, towering, and furious.
Zeke Yeager's chest rose and fell with ragged breaths.
His right eye was gone, blasted apart by a lucky sniper round.
One arm hung useless, half-regrown and trembling. His left leg smoked with steam as it struggled to regenerate. His chest burned where a Thunder Spear had detonated too close.
He was bleeding—and enraged.
His teeth ground together as he grabbed a handful of rubble. With a roar, he hurled it across the battlefield. The stone shattered through the air with the speed of a cannonball, crushing soldiers and trenches in its path.
"Reiner's intelligence was wrong!" he snarled inwardly. "These humans—they're nothing like before!"
The soldiers of the Survey Corps moved with terrifying coordination. Their ODM Gear hissed through the air like silver insects, striking, retreating, striking again. The sound of metal wires and exploding gas echoed from every direction.
Monsters.
That's what they were to Zeke.
Monsters in human form.
If it weren't for Pieck Finger shielding him with her Car Titan, he would've been dead already. But even she was barely holding on—her Titan's limbs shredded by artillery fire.
"Zeke," she gasped through the steam, "we can't stay here—"
"I know!" he growled.
He reached out, his massive fingers piercing the back of her Titan's neck. With a rough motion, he pulled her out, clutching her fragile human form between his fingers before shoving her into his mouth for safekeeping.
He turned to flee—but the whirring of ODM Gear filled the air behind him.
Too late.
A flash of light cut through the smoke.
Steel. Motion. Blood.
Zeke roared as something sliced across his face—clean and precise.
His world went black.
"—not good—!" he hissed, clutching his head as steam gushed from the wound. He couldn't see. He couldn't see.
From the shadows above, Squad Leader Miche Zacharius—nicknamed "Sanmao" among the troops—landed hard on the Beast Titan's shoulder, gasping, bloodied, but alive.
"Do it!" he shouted to the artillery crews below.
Eld Jinn and Oluo Bozado had already pulled back, streaking through the air on ODM lines to clear the blast radius.
Dozens of mobile cannons locked onto the Beast Titan's exposed back.
"Fire!"
The roar of simultaneous discharge shook the ground.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
The shells struck home, tearing through flesh and bone. Steam erupted from the impact points. The Beast Titan staggered forward, collapsing to one knee. Its regeneration slowed—overwhelmed by damage.
The ground trembled as its massive body hit the earth.
On the northern ridge, Lock saw the explosion's bloom rise into the clouds. His eyes narrowed.
"Levi… you did it."
But the relief lasted only a heartbeat.
The roar that followed wasn't from the Beast Titan. It was deeper, heavier—a sound that shook the air itself.
Lock's horse reared back, neighing in panic. Ymir, catching up behind him, looked up sharply.
From the ruins beyond the smoke, a massive shape pushed itself upright—covered in scorched armor and dripping steam.
"The Armored Titan," Lock said under his breath.
Reiner Braun had entered the battle.
"Ymir," Lock snapped, his tone cutting through the noise, "stay close to me. No transformations unless necessary!"
She gritted her teeth but nodded.
The Survey Corps behind them tightened formation as the distant thunder of battle rolled across the plains. They were close now—less than a kilometer from the walls.
Lock raised his hand, signaling the charge.
"Everyone—move!"
And as the riders surged forward again, the smoke and flame of the southern battlefield loomed ahead—where the fate of Paradis would be decided.
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