Chapter 417 - 417: The Way of Making an Entrance

Ten minutes earlier, under the dim sky, a silver aircraft roared above the clouds. Inside the cramped cabin, everyone sat upright and solemn. At present, Paradis Island's aircraft technology was nowhere near the mature level of the Far East, so the plane constantly shook violently throughout the flight.

But to these elite Paradis Island soldiers who had undergone Vertical Maneuvering Equipment training, this level of turbulence was nothing at all. Every one of them remained calm and composed, and Erwin and the others were equally indifferent.

However, the two elderly generals from the Eastern region and Airi—these three "land ducks"—couldn't handle it at all. The two old generals were still seasoned soldiers with enough self-control to barely suppress the discomfort, but for Airi, this trip had nearly taken half her life.

She had vomited up both bowls of beef noodles she ate before departure. Once there was nothing left to throw up, she could only dry heave endlessly. Her once healthy little face had turned deathly pale, and countless little stars seemed to spin before her eyes.

"We're almost there! Up ahead is Icarus City. According to intelligence from our Volunteer Army, the Marleyans' meeting should be taking place beneath Saint He Hospital! Yago-san, please prepare yourself!" Onyankopon shouted loudly. If he didn't raise his voice, no one inside the cabin would be able to hear him.

At that moment, Yago opened his eyes, stood up from his seat, stretched his body slightly, then looked at everyone before him and said with a smile:

"Alright, it's time for us to make our entrance. Our friends from Marley and the other countries must be getting impatient waiting for us, right?"

As Yago stood up, everyone else immediately moved as well. Several Paradis Island soldiers wore solemn expressions as they began checking the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment on their bodies. Others took out sets of harness gear from prepared crates and strapped them onto themselves.

With Annie and Hange's help, the nearly collapsed Airi was assisted into a harness set, then firmly tied together with Annie's own harness. The two elderly Eastern region generals followed suit and were strapped onto two Paradis Island soldiers.

What were they planning to do? Recreate the Marleyans' old "Marley's Wrath Plan" airborne drop?

No! That kind of entrance was far too lame.

As representatives of the Eldians, their entrance absolutely had to be filled with Eldian characteristics. Only then could the friends of the outside world truly feel the enthusiasm of the Eldians!

And what exactly were Eldian characteristics?

Whoosh!

The cabin door suddenly swung open. The immense pressure difference instantly flooded the cabin with fierce air currents, and roaring wind filled everyone's ears.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yago strode toward the cabin door, leapt forward, and directly jumped out of the aircraft.

Meanwhile, everyone aboard remained completely calm, as if none of this surprised them in the slightest.

The next second—

Crack!!

Through the cabin window, the originally dim surroundings were suddenly illuminated by dazzling golden light. Strands of golden and crimson lightning intertwined between the clouds, while at the same time the aircraft shook violently, and a strange howling sound rushed into the cabin.

As the golden lightning faded, through the cabin windows one could occasionally see a pair of overwhelmingly oppressive crimson eyes.

"Move out."

With Levi's brief command, the Paradis Island soldiers immediately and orderly headed toward the cabin door, jumping from the aircraft one after another.

At some point, Erwin and Hange had also equipped their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. The few of them exchanged smiles before likewise leaping out of the plane.

Without turning back, Onyankopon still shouted loudly:

"Wishing you all success!"

The two remaining Paradis Island soldiers worked together to shut the cabin door once more, and the aircraft quickly turned around and headed back toward Hope District.

...

Icarus City.

Near Saint He Hospital, where the joint conference was being held, nearly an entire fully-equipped Marleyan division had already been stationed. Countless weapons and artillery pieces were aimed toward the sky, waiting in readiness. Every Marleyan soldier was fully armed with live ammunition, and all unrelated civilians within several kilometers had been forcibly evacuated in preparation for a possible attack at any moment.

However, after several continuous hours of meetings, the Marleyan soldiers were gradually reaching their limits.

Humans weren't made of iron. No one could maintain a state of extreme alertness for several straight hours forever. Inevitably, some Marleyan soldiers began slacking off.

For example, a squad of Marleyan soldiers assigned to the rooftop of Saint He Hospital had already started loafing around. Even the anti-aircraft gunners had left their positions to warm themselves beside a stove.

One soldier nervously puffed on a cigarette and asked the squad captain beside him:

"Sir, is this really okay? What if the military police catch us, or the enemy attacks?"

"Bah! Shut your mouth. How could it possibly be that coincidental? We've gone on alert so many damn times already. They keep saying to watch out for Far Eastern attacks, but until now we haven't even seen a single Far Easterner. Why scare ourselves for nothing? This damn weather is freezing!" the Marleyan captain cursed as he stood up, preparing to grab more firewood for the stove.

Suddenly, a tremendous howling sound came from the sky above.

Something seemed to be rapidly approaching them from overhead.

The Marleyan captain frowned in confusion. The sky was dim, and he couldn't clearly see what was above them. But as the howling sound grew louder and louder, the object before his eyes became increasingly distinct.

Clatter!

The firewood dropped to the ground.

An extremely twisted expression appeared on the captain's face, as though he had been utterly terrified senseless. The next moment, a shrill scream rang across the rooftop.

"Enemy attack!! A Titan! There's a Titan!! Hurry! Hurry!! Anti-aircraft guns!!"

Using the faint moonlight, the Marleyan soldiers finally saw the enormous figure in the sky.

A Titan.

A winged Titan!

The sharp feathers radiated brilliance even brighter than the newly risen moon. Its entire body was covered in layer after layer of armor-like bone plating that resembled a work of art. Those glowing crimson eyes burned themselves clearly into every Marleyan soldier's vision.

And on that Titan—

There seemed to be something hanging from its body.

People!

There were people hanging from the Titan!?

The Marleyan soldiers who had been slacking moments ago now scrambled frantically toward their posts as if chased by wild dogs. Some anti-aircraft gunners were so terrified they ran on all fours toward the artillery positions.

But it was already too late.

The Titan's wings beat once, and despite its massive size, its speed surpassed lightning itself. In the blink of an eye, it rushed onto the rooftop of Saint He Hospital.

BOOM!!

The Titan's feet slammed heavily onto the rooftop. The entire rooftop shook as though struck by a catastrophic impact. An invisible shockwave instantly spread in all directions, throwing the Marleyan soldiers into complete disarray. One or two unlucky men were even blasted straight off the rooftop, while several massive anti-aircraft guns were overturned on the spot.

As the Fate Titan slowly exhaled steam from its mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, the people clinging tightly to its body with their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment seized the opportunity to land.

"You people—!!"

The dazed Marleyan captain had just gotten back to his feet. Before he could even pull the pistol from his waist, a slender yet powerful leg smashed into him with a heavy kick, sending the Marleyan captain peacefully "to sleep."

Against Paradis Island's elite soldiers, these Marleyan troops were completely outmatched. Beside Levi, seven or eight Marleyan soldiers had their joints dislocated outright and lay on the ground screaming in agony.

In the blink of an eye, an entire Marleyan squad of over ten men had been subdued.

Annie didn't even glance at the Marleyan she had kicked unconscious. Instead, she looked worriedly at the gigantic Titan crouching atop the rooftop.

"Yago! Are you alright?"

The response Annie received was the Fate Titan's instantly hardened fist.

BOOM! BOOM!

The Fate Titan raised its hardened heavy fists and smashed them into the floor before it. Apparently unsatisfied, it lifted one hand, white light gathering within it as a massive hardened pickaxe with a sharp tip materialized.

Letting out a roar, it swung the giant pickaxe down with all its might.

----------------

Fanfic is finished on Patreon (500 chapters in total.)

Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)