Chapter 423: The Fall of Shiganshina District

"The strongest?"

Eren looked at Jiraiya; the middle-aged man from another world, whom he had only briefly encountered, was suddenly exuding an aura that left him dazed.

Even though his power had been sealed, Jiraiya remained a warrior who had experienced a hundred battles.

And Eren, though favored by fate, was like most civilians and the Military Police Regiment, protected by thick, high walls—a piece of livestock kept in captivity.

Eren's pupils trembled; he had a feeling of seeing... no, it was something that far surpassed the feeling the Survey Corps usually gave him.

"Eren, if you want to save the world, if you want to change fate, it is difficult if you say it's difficult, and easy if you say it's easy!"

As twilight approached,

the warm, soft sunlight spilled over the city walls and the Shiganshina District, where a large number of civilians lived within the city.

A black shadow appeared on the city wall, blocking the sunlight and casting a large shadow.

Jiraiya looked up,

watching the giant head that had suddenly appeared out of thin air and risen above the wall.

It had no skin; hideous, scarlet muscle fibers were exposed, and high-temperature white steam gushed toward the city wall, covering a large section of the walkway.

The Garrison Regiment soldiers, who had no time to react, were instantly scalded to death by the white steam.

This scene could be seen by all the civilians in the Shiganshina District.

Terror, fear, frantic fleeing, shrill screams, struggling and crowding in the streets...

It was like some kind of forgotten fear.

"Colossal Giant!"

Eren swallowed hard and stood stiffly in place; even though he had prepared himself, the fear still rapidly filled his heart upon seeing the special Giant that had destroyed the wall once again.

Suddenly, Jiraiya's bold and heroic voice rang in his ears.

"That is will!"

"The will to face fear head-on, to see fear, to fight fear, and finally, to transcend fear!"

Jiraiya could see the same unyielding spirit in Eren that he had possessed in his own youth.

Being chosen by the Samsara Game to become a player meant the boy was also a life with a tenacious will, only temporarily blinded.

The Colossal Giant tilted its head in confusion, looking at Jiraiya, who had not been killed by the white steam; it seemed puzzled that a human, like an ant, had not taken the opportunity to flee.

Swoosh.

Jiraiya flicked his fingers, and the steel claw shot out, nailing firmly into the city wall, then the cable tightened.

Borrowing the pulling force, he rushed toward the Colossal Giant at an extremely high speed.

After redeeming the Vertical Maneuvering Control Technique, a segment of memory as if honed through thousands of trials appeared in his mind, and even his body could adapt perfectly.

Just as he had said,

now, he was the strongest warrior of the three regiments.

"Roar, roar!"

The Colossal Giant let out a low roar; although its body was huge, it was not at all as clumsy as imagined, and its arms swung flexibly, trying to grab Jiraiya as he moved through the air.

However, it underestimated Jiraiya's agility; with a few flashes, he dodged the swinging blood-red arms and stood on the Colossal Giant's shoulder.

"Who is that?"

"Vertical Maneuvering Equipment... is he a soldier from the Military Police Regiment?"

The civilians, who were fleeing frantically but were blocked by the moat and could only wait for the ferry to enter the city, turned their heads to see the tiny figure standing on the Colossal Giant's shoulder.

Inside the station, the Survey Corps soldiers who had just returned to the city also saw Jiraiya flying in the air, their gazes dull.

"I've never seen him before; he's not from the Survey Corps. Could he be from the Military Police Regiment or the Garrison Regiment? How is that possible!"

"Even if it were Captain Levi... no, Captain Levi is the strongest!"

As soldiers who often went outside the walls to conduct surveys, they were the regiment that came into contact with Giants most frequently.

They retained a residual wildness that had not been domesticated.

The Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was like an extension of their hands and feet; those with clumsy control had long since become food for the Giants.

However, seeing Jiraiya's control over the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, they still felt shocked.

It was like the gap between a butcher and a peerless Sword Master.

They had only seen this kind of terrifying strength in the person known as the strongest soldier, Levi, so they were unwilling to believe that such a fierce warrior could exist among that group of good-for-nothing Military Police and Garrison soldiers.

"Hee..." The corners of the Colossal Giant's mouth split open, as if it were smiling; it was different from the mindless Giants that wandered about.

Just as it waited for Jiraiya to land on its shoulder, *pfft*.

A large amount of high-temperature white steam suddenly erupted from the gaps in its muscles, like a thick fog, shrouding its entire body.

The hurricane-like impact, followed by the high-temperature steam, blew Jiraiya, who hadn't stood firm yet, directly away; his skin began to fester, corroded by the high heat.

"Well done!"

Jiraiya ignored the pain of the corrosion, pulled on the claw nailed into the Colossal Giant's shoulder, and his figure drew a circle in the air.

*Crack, crack... *

The high-temperature steam caused the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to jam, making it impossible to continue using.

Jiraiya, nearing the back of the Colossal Giant's neck, fell like a kite with a broken string.

【Redeeming 【Vertical Maneuvering Equipment】!】

Falling, Jiraiya communicated with the Mall, and the next second, he discarded the damaged Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and donned the latest version redeemed from the Mall.

"Giant, how many more times can you erupt steam?"

Jiraiya, with his keen observation, discovered that as the steam erupted, the Colossal Giant's muscles withered like water.

It was likely a high-consumption method.

And at this moment, Jiraiya's skin was completely festered, and his cheeks, like the Colossal Giant's, were left with only scarlet muscle, looking like a fierce ghost.

The grappling hook fired,

the rope pulled tight against Jiraiya's body, and he landed once again on the nape of the Colossal Giant.

The Warrior from the Marley Empire, the Colossal Giant transformed from Bertholdt Hoover, sensed the threat of death at this moment.

Even though he had undergone professional training, he had never encountered a mad human like Jiraiya, who didn't even care about his own life.

"Go to hell!"

Jiraiya swung his Blade, about to slice open the flesh of the Colossal Giant's nape.

Suddenly, a Giant covered in Armor rushed over like a cannonball, knocking Jiraiya away and saving the Colossal Giant.

"Two special Giants... they seem to possess intelligence, unlike those wandering mindless Giants."

Jiraiya landed on the wall's walkway, wearing a serious expression, and said: "Eren, the Giants outside the wall likely possess intelligence; this is no accident, but an organized and premeditated plan of destruction."

The performance of the two Giants just now was nothing like the majority of mindless Muku Giants; they helped each other and showed clear emotions while fighting.

However, Jiraiya had no interest in digging deep for intelligence; his goal was to withstand the Giant attack and protect Wall Maria.

In other words,

it was to not let this wall fall; once it fell, he would have to kill every Giant that invaded the wall.

The soldiers of the Garrison Regiment stared dumbfounded at Jiraiya as he landed on the wall; during the battle with the Colossal Giant, his uniform's perfect disguise had already failed, and the people of the Garrison Regiment realized they had never seen this officer before.

Rumble.

The rescued Colossal Giant struck a kicking pose, its massive, skinless torso slamming into the wall.

The wall was kicked open, and the giant waves of dust and rain of rubble smashed countless houses in Shiganshina District.

The gale blew away the soldiers of the Garrison Regiment at the edge of the wall.

A huge breach appeared on the wall, and even the sunlight shining through felt a cold, grim chill.

Through the breach in the wall,

one could see countless Giants constantly moving toward the interior of the city.

With Weirdness-filled smiles on their faces and running postures like deformities, yet possessing appearances similar to humans, this hair-raising atmosphere pushed the uncanny valley effect to the extreme.

Countless civilians shivered, gathering by the moat,

having originally watched longingly as the wealthy boarded ships, but now a riot broke out directly.

"Get lost, let us board!"

"If you won't let me into the city, then we'll all die together!"

Even with soldiers from the Military Police Regiment maintaining order, riots still occurred at several city gates.

The result was that the ships were sunk, and no one could escape with their lives.

(End of this chapter)