Inside the armored train, the Middle Eastern soldiers widened their eyes. A dizzying sensation engulfed them, and for a brief moment it felt as if they were in a vacuum—but in the next second.
Boom!! Creak! Creak! Riiip!
Magath tightened his grip on the binoculars in shock. In his field of vision, the black steel beast-like armored train, at the moment it collided with the Paladin Titan (fusion form), twisted and deformed section by section.
And the Paladin Titan (fusion form) stood tall like an indestructible fortress—no! Not just standing tall!
The Paladin Titan raised its head, letting out a dull roar from beneath its faceplate. Its scarlet eyes now brimmed with killing intent.
Crack! The Paladin Titan suddenly grabbed the front of the armored train, the sheer force of its arms embedding deeply into the pure steel engine.
"Monster! How can such a monster exist?! Open fire! Now!!" The commander inside another armored train saw this scene and instantly went furious, roaring as he frantically ordered his subordinates to fire.
Boom!! Boom!! … Dozens of heavy anti-Titan cannons mounted on the armored trains roared at once, countless deadly shells rushing straight toward the fusion heavy titan (writing "fusion form" feels awkward, so from now on it'll be shortened to fusion heavy titan, please take note (''▽'')♪)
The bombardment erupted into clusters of orange flames across the fusion heavy titan's body, accompanied by rolling black smoke.
"Wait! Don't tell me they…?!" Inside the nape of the Armored Titan, Reiner was filled with shock and deep concern for the safety of Bazel and Ivanor within the fusion heavy titan.
Reiner knew the power of those shells better than anyone. As the Shield of Marley, even something as tough as the Armored Titan couldn't withstand such firepower head-on.
The bombardment continued relentlessly. The terrified Middle Eastern artillerymen reloaded and fired at the fastest speed of their lives. Within just a few minutes, nearly a hundred shells struck the fusion heavy titan. The rising black smoke even engulfed its massive form. Through observation ports, the soldiers stared nervously—had that terrifying Titan been destroyed?
Whoosh! A massive, twisted lump of steel suddenly shot out from the smoke—that was… the completely deformed front of the armored train! The train head, warped by bombardment!
Steel collided with steel, triggering a violent explosion, while bright red liquid dripped continuously from the gaps of the armored train.
At some unknown moment, the fusion heavy titan had split apart. The Fortress Titan disappeared, leaving only the Paladin Titan standing proudly in place.
"Hahaha, I thought it'd be more fun—so that's all?" Ivanor's slightly excited laughter echoed from within the Paladin Titan's nape.
On the Paladin Titan's shoulder, Bazel crouched halfway down, his chest heaving violently. His eyes were bloodshot, his forehead drenched in cold sweat—clearly overexerted. And indeed, that was the case. In the fusion state of the Paladin Titan and the Fortress Titan, most of the stamina consumption fell on the Fortress Titan's host. Bazel alone had borne double the burden.
Just by looking at Bazel's physique, it was obvious—how much stamina could a thin and frail young man like him possibly have?
Bazel took a few breaths, then patted the Paladin Titan's neck, saying somewhat irritably,
"Ivanor, can you take it easy? Sure, those shells can't hurt the Fortress, but do you really have to stand there like a target? It's exhausting!"
The Paladin Titan lowered its head. Bazel's expression changed instantly—after all, a Titan head nearly three meters tall was now less than two meters away from him. Anyone would feel their heart tremble.
"Just a suggestion… a small suggestion…" Bazel forced a laugh, pinching his fingers together to indicate "just a little."
Only then did the Paladin Titan move its oppressive head away. Ivanor curled her lips.
"Don't ruin my fun all the time, seriously."
...
Boom! A shell slammed into the steel armor on the back of the Cart Titan, causing it to stagger, but it quickly regained balance, using all four limbs to nimbly evade the incoming barrage.
"Klaus, are you alright?" The Cart Titan's deep voice asked after retreating into cover. Klaus was also a member of the armored unit on the Cart Titan's back.
"Pieck-san, I—I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy."
Whoosh! A massive figure darted over beside the Cart Titan and lowered its head. Porco emerged from the nape of the Claw Titan, his expression grim.
"That big thing's hard to deal with. The claws can't pierce it at all."
The Cart Titan slightly leaned forward, secretly glancing at the slowly advancing armored train. Inside the nape, Pieck rapidly thought through a plan—and soon, she noticed something.
"Porco, that thing runs on tracks—see it? Just like a train!" the Cart Titan said in a low voice.
Porco stared for a moment, then nodded.
Moments later, the Cart Titan suddenly burst out, its massive form instantly drawing the attention of the armored train and the surviving Middle Eastern soldiers nearby. Countless shells and bullets poured toward it.
The Cart Titan weaved and dodged, not only evading the barrage with incredible agility, but the armored squad on its back also unleashed a storm of machine-gun fire.
Among the surviving Middle Eastern soldiers, it stirred up a bloody slaughter.
The Cart Titan was extremely fast. If one observed carefully from above, it would be clear—it was closing in on the rear of the armored train.
Naturally, all the train's firepower was drawn toward it. So by the time soldiers inside the train realized that a Titan was rapidly approaching from the front, it was already too late. In haste, only two cannons managed to turn around—but such sparse firepower was nowhere near enough to stop the Claw Titan.
The Claw Titan's eyes glowed crimson as it let out a roar toward the approaching armored train.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Pale white hardened claws formed one after another in its hands.
With a fierce slash, the steel tracks in front of the armored train shattered instantly—but it didn't stop there. The claws shot forward like arrows, embedding deep into the ground.
The Claw Titan continuously fired hardened claws, quickly creating several clustered hardened obstacles on the ground.
Just as Pieck and Porco expected, the plan succeeded. Once the armored train derailed, it immediately lost control, and after colliding with the hardened obstacles, it completely overturned.
...
After finishing the tea in his cup, Yago listened to the gradually fading sounds of artillery outside.
"This war… is about to end."