The group of soldiers, Armin, Eren, and Ian Dietrich, stood ready to face the titans.
Although the soldiers give various looks to Eren and even seem guarded against him, still, against the Titans and under the instruction of their captain, they have to stand by his side.
Looking at their group, other soldiers who were scattered around started to gather and join them, increasing their number.
Among the incoming soldiers, one inconspicuous figure moves towards them.
Bertholdt Hoover, the holder of the Colossal Titan, joins their group with his own purpose.
He is not here to fight the titans; as the person who is behind the destruction of the Walls, he isn't here to fight for the people of the Walls.
His motive behind joining them is that if he alone approaches the 'Founder Titan,' then that would be seen as abnormal, and if the 'Founder Titan' becomes alert, it may run away.
But now that he had joined them, he got the reason to advance toward the figure of Kevin, Reiner, and Annie, under the banner of fighting for humanity.
And on top of that, with Eren, a titan shifter, the focus of everyone will be on him, which will give Bertholdt the perfect chance to get as close as he can to Kevin, the 'Founder' titan, and then with one fell swoop attack, he will take down him, completing the mission for which they have arrived here.
'Just a little more, Riner and Annie; continue to engage him. The victory is within our grasp.' Looking at the struggling figures of Reiner and Annie, who are facing Kevin and just barely surviving against him. Bertholdt tightened his grip on his ODM gear, desperate to reach there as soon as possible.
Ian Dietrich, looking at the newcomers, gives them a brief overview of what they are going to do, telling a made-up story to cover up Eren's transformation. He asks the soldiers who want to advance together with them and tells the soldiers to leave if they want.
Hearing that, most of the soldiers agree; almost no one wants to back down from saving their home, and even if there's a human who can transform into a titan, that doesn't stop them.
"So, are you ready?" Ian Dietrich, asks Eren, who has his eyes fixed on the ongoing battle between the titans.
"Yes, I am." Eren replies firmly, his voice having a peculiar calmness to it.
"That is good. Today the fate of humanity lies upon you, so don't disappoint anyone.
"Worry not; today we are going to win." Eren speaks with conviction.
"Win?" Ian seems to think of something, looking at the massive figure of Kevin, which radiates intense power. "Are you sure you will be able to take down that guy?"
Something strange shines in Eren's eyes; looking at Kevin, he said, "That guy is clearly troublesome, but with the addition of you guys, taking him down should not be impossible."
"Hm, I hope so too; otherwise the outcome is going to be clearly very ugly."
Saying that Ian Dietrich addressed other soldiers, telling them to be prepared to fight, and explaining his plan, everyone stood completely ready.
Arriving by Eren's side, Ian asks him, "So how does the transformation work? How did you turn into a titan?"
Hearing that, Eren brings his hand up and says, "To transform into a titan, I need a trigger, mainly an injury."
"Injury?" A slight question mark appears on Ian's face. "So, do I need to cut you?"
Unsheathing his blade, Ian looks at Eren.
"No need, I can do that myself."
Eren suddenly moved ahead; with his ODM gear, he landed on the ground, in an open square.
Everyone's eyes follow him, their intense gaze fixed at him, ready to witness the unbelievable transformation of a human into a Titan.
Strange light flickers in Eren's eyes; something seems to awaken in them. Then, the next second, he suddenly brings his hand to his mouth and ruthlessly digs his teeth into his hand; red blood gushes out, and with it, the flash of lightning.
Rumble
Golden lightning strikes, blinding common people's eyesight, while Kevin, Annie, and Reiner all look in surprise towards this sudden appearance of thunder.
'Eren, so you decided to show yourself.' Kevin looks in anticipation of the rising figure of the Attack Titan. 'Show me what you have got. On what basis did you choose to face me?' Kevin ignores Reiner and Annie and instead gets ready to face Eren.
Surprised gasps sounded collectively.
The soldier, Ian, Armin, and everyone else look in wonder at the now transformed figure of Eren into the Titan.
Suddenly, Eren turns back; his fifteen-meter-tall titan body puts heavy pressure on everyone.
Some soldiers even back down in fear; Eren, now the Attack Titan, continues to glance at them, causing sweat to appear on their foreheads.
"Eren, you can do it; control yourself." Armin silently mumbles to himself, hoping for their plan to succeed.
Just as it seems that Eren is going to attack them, he suddenly turns back, his gaze directly landing on the figure of Kevin's titan form.
Eren's eyes started to glow green, meeting Kevin's red eyes. Eren didn't back down and then took a step toward him.
Reiner and Annie, looking at the approaching figure of Eren's attack titan, almost cursed aloud. Their situation was already very critical, as they were just somehow surviving till now, and now with the addition of Eren, a supposed 'ally' of the 'Founders titan,' both of them despair.
'Damn it, Bertholdt, where are you? Are you waiting for any one of us to get killed before arriving?' Both Annie and Reiner think of Bertholdt; his absence troubles them.
The initial plan was that when the Founder's Titan appeared, both Reiner and Annie would engage it first, and then, getting the chance, Bertholdt would arrive and take down the Founder's Titan by surprise, but since the appearance of Kevin, a lot of time has gone by, but there is still no hint of his presence.
Causing both Annie and Reiner to worry, even the thought of abandoning the fight arrives in their minds, but still the possibility of Bertholdt arriving holds them from retreating.
While both of them worry, Bertholdt looks in amazement at Eren.
"Soldiers, advance together with Eren; attack them." Ian roars out, causing the soldiers to immediately use their ODM gear and arrive by Eren's titan form; the fear that they feel upon reaching near the titan doesn't get registered by them now that they move together with Eren, a titan.
Bertholdt, maintaining some distance, follows their group, excitement surging inside his eyes. 'Soon, we are going to win.' He thought happily.