The malformed body of the Cart Titan shattered, and an entirely new Cart Titan emerged from the fragments of the old body, lunging straight toward the back of the Armored Titan's neck.
"Petra, Jurgen, move!" Levi immediately warned his subordinates. Petra and Jurgen reacted quickly, activating their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment in time and pulling away from the Armored Titan's nape.
Crack! The Cart Titan's enormous jaws clamped down on the entire back of the Armored Titan's neck, then tore it off viciously.
"Damn it!"
After ripping open the Armored Titan's nape, the Cart Titan did not hesitate. It flung its limbs outward and charged straight for the wall.
"Stop it!" Some Survey Corps soldiers tried to intercept the Cart Titan, but it was fast, and with the tremendous momentum of its run, several Survey Corps members who collided with it were instantly reduced to a bloody mess.
Erwin was also a step too late. By the time they reached the ground, the Cart Titan had already climbed onto the wall, and the Armored Titan's body on the ground had begun to evaporate.
Boom!! With a massive roar, the 60-meter-tall Colossal Titan vanished in a bizarre manner, even faster than ordinary Titans evaporate.
Vanishing along with it were the Cart Titan and the Armored Titan's host, Reiner, whom the Cart Titan had rescued. This capture operation could be said to have completely failed, just like the previous Female Titan capture operation.
This failure could be attributed to insufficient intelligence—Erwin and the others had not anticipated the appearance of the Cart Titan at all.
Erwin closed his eyes and sighed. The best opportunity had already been missed.
...
As dusk fell, the soldiers of the Survey Corps began clearing the devastated wall and collecting the bodies of their fallen comrades. A shadow hung over everyone's faces.
"What the hell is going on with Yago? He suddenly comes back alive and then suddenly disappears! And Reiner and Bertholdt—turns out they're Titans! This is seriously driving me crazy!" Jean complained while staying with a group of new recruits.
"What?" Levi frowned, while Nanaba, standing beside him, reported somewhat awkwardly.
"What happened?" Even though the operation had failed, other tasks still had to be carried out—at the very least, they had to investigate and clear the Titans inside Wall Rose.
"That guy Yago ran off," Levi said irritably.
Erwin pondered for a moment. "Yago, huh… No matter what, at least he's not an enemy. How is Eren?"
Since the Cart Titan had chosen to rescue Reiner directly, Eren had not been taken. Of course, if the Cart Titan had really wanted to seize Eren, the outcome would have been hard to say.
The Cart Titan did not have the Armored Titan's thick defenses—Mikasa could absolutely annihilate the Cart Titan with ease.
Eren was now lying down to rest due to severe exhaustion.
"Overexerted, resting," Levi replied, while casting an impatient glance toward Hange nearby.
Hange was sprawled over the desk, writing furiously, her eyes shining brightly.
Levi: "Hey, Hange, what are you scribbling all over the place for?"
Hange pushed up her glasses, her tone unusually serious.
"I'm collecting information on the enemy. If we want to defeat them, we naturally have to understand them—for example, our blades can't do anything against the Armored Titan's skin…"
"Commander! The Commander of the Military Police, Commander Nile, has arrived!" A Survey Corps soldier suddenly rushed in to report, his voice tinged with panic.
At once, everyone present sensed something was wrong.
Bang! A pair of armed Military Police burst into the command room. Clatter—together they raised their rifles and aimed them at Erwin.
Shing! Instinctively, Levi drew his blade halfway from his waist.
"Calm down!" Erwin barked, then turned his gaze to Nile.
Though helpless, Nile still stated the reason.
"Erwin! Because you deliberately diverted the Military Police and the Garrison, acted without authorization, disobeyed orders, and are suspected of being connected to the sudden appearance of the Colossal Titan, the High Command has ordered the Military Police to detain Erwin Smith and escort him back to the capital for questioning. The entire Survey Corps is to be disarmed!"
These words clearly enraged the other Survey Corps soldiers present.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Levi glared coldly at Nile. Even Hange, who was usually carefree, showed a trace of anger on her face.
"It's fine. I believe the High Command will investigate everything thoroughly. Let's go," Erwin said as he pushed aside the notes in his hand. He stood up, walked to Nile's side, and gestured.
Nile hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand. Two armed Military Police moved behind Erwin to keep watch over him.
After Erwin left the room, everyone else followed. Only Levi lagged behind, glancing at the notes Erwin had pushed aside—his pupils contracted slightly.
On the wall, many soldiers from the Military Police and the Garrison had already arrived. Under their supervision, all Survey Corps soldiers obediently removed their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
"This is really strange. Disarming us in such a ridiculous way will severely damage the Survey Corps' reputation. Why would the royal government do this?" Armin said worriedly.
"Eren, are you okay?" Mikasa hadn't really heard Armin at all. She was only concerned about Eren, who had just woken up. Eren sat dejectedly on the carriage, his mood low—after all, his former friends had turned out to be the culprits behind the suffering of the people inside the walls.
Erwin followed the Military Police to a carriage. Just as he was about to climb aboard, out of the corner of his eye he suddenly noticed several familiar figures—black clerical robes, tall and thin silhouettes.
"The Wall Church?" Erwin muttered, then boarded the carriage under the Military Police's urging.
...
Under the setting sun, the Cart Titan's body sprinted wildly across the land. The tremendous commotion even attracted quite a few ordinary Titans wandering nearby, but with their speed, all they could do was watch the Cart Titan's backside disappear into the distance.
"Pieck! Pieck! Can you let Reiner out first? We're already far from the wall—the Survey Corps shouldn't be able to catch up anymore."
Looking closely, a figure was seated on the Cart Titan's neck, the lines of muscle on his face still clearly visible. Bertholdt looked extremely weak—transforming into the Colossal Titan was a tremendous burden for him, after all, becoming a Titan consumed the host's physical strength.
After hearing Bertholdt's words, the Cart Titan stopped in its tracks.