"They're dead!" Artur looked at the Titan's corpse and swallowed with difficulty.
"It's dead! It's really dead!"
All four Titans had fallen to the ground, defeated by the Gatling machine guns they controlled!
There was no mistake. Artur had excellent eyesight. He saw it clearly. The bullet he fired pierced through the Titan's throat and destroyed its nape!
At that very moment, the Titan emitted white steam.
It died, killed by the Gatling machine guns. It could no longer exist in this world and would soon turn into vapor and disappear.
"We did it! Erwin, did you see that? We did it!" Hange jumped on the wall, cheering. "Now we can reclaim the wall! And we can capture the Titan Gale wants to study alive!"
"That's the power of a Gatling machine gun! Hahaha!"
"Yes, we did it." Erwin rarely showed even a slight smile. "The result exceeded my expectations. I was somewhat worried that the rain might affect the Gatling machine gun and the gunner, but now it seems there is no problem."
"Of course, under the firepower of the Gatling machine gun, the Titans have no chance of getting close."
A single Gatling machine gun could face twenty Titans at once. At first, Erwin thought that number was somewhat exaggerated, but after witnessing its effectiveness in real combat, he realized the true power of such a weapon.
As long as the Gatling machine gun was installed on the ground in advance, there was no need to fear Titans charging from the same direction.
Unless it was an abnormal type or Titans attacking from multiple directions—but Titans did not possess that level of intelligence, and even if they did, there was nothing to worry about.
There was no Titan that a Gatling machine gun could not defeat—and if there was, then two would suffice.
"The truth of the world, the secret of the Titans…"
Soon, he would be able to pursue what he sought.
Everything was hidden in that basement. What was the past of Eren's father? Why was Gale in such a hurry to create weapons so far ahead of their time?
Erwin sensed that once they reached that basement, all mysteries would be revealed. He removed his rain hat and looked at Gale, who was not far away.
Once he knew the truth about the world, what should he do?
Should they continue chanting "Dedicate your hearts" to fight for humanity?
Should they all allow Gale to take power and expand his influence?
At that moment, Erwin began to feel somewhat lost. However, the scene of his first meeting with Gale flashed through his mind.
"I have a dream." Those deep blue eyes stared directly into Erwin's.
"I hope that all children of this land will have enough to eat, receive basic medical care and education, and that everyone will stop fearing Titans and live in peace."
"Gale… is that truly your dream?
Did you lie to me that day?"
As Erwin watched Gale, he felt increasingly unable to understand him.
Once again, shouts came from below the wall.
"It's an abnormal type!" Erwin turned to look at the plain; this time, the bait was Levi's squad.
Two giants followed their horses, one of which had a very peculiar running posture. It ran on all fours like a dog or a cat, and it was extremely fast.
"Let the gunners handle it!" Levi ordered from horseback. "We need to test the effectiveness of the Gatling machine gun against abnormal Titans!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Levi saw the signal from the firing squad; the Titan had entered effective range.
The signal meant they should disperse to avoid being accidentally hit.
"Fall back!" Levi ordered with a roar. He closely observed the creature's movements, ready to act if the Gatling machine gun failed.
But in the next second, he realized he probably wouldn't have the chance to make any move today.
Amid the gunfire, Levi's horse slowly came to a stop. He pulled the reins, turned around, and looked at the shredded abnormal Titan.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It could not be said that the two Titans had completely withstood the twelve Gatling machine guns; their combat capabilities simply were not on the same level.
Although many bullets did not hit their targets, the abnormal creature was riddled with bullets in an instant. By the time Levi stopped, not a single patch of skin remained intact on its body—it was nothing more than a mass of flesh expelling blood.
Its throat had been pierced directly, and the flesh of its nape had been crushed into an unrecognizable mass.
Bullet cavity effect…
Levi did not fully understand it when Hange explained it to him, but now he seemed to grasp it.
This meant that giants could not withstand gunfire due to their enormous muscles and size; if a high-speed bullet penetrated their bodies, it could cause damage several times greater than the initial impact.
"Wow, that's incredible, Captain!" Petra approached Levi. "That abnormal Titan was eliminated so easily!"
"Doesn't this mean I won't have any chance to shine?" Eld shouted resentfully. "The firing squad is stealing all the spotlight."
"Don't lower your guard!" Levi turned, guiding his horse. "The battle isn't over yet. Keep drawing in the Titans around us. We must eliminate all of them before ten!"
"Yes!" The Scout soldiers turned back once more, heading farther out to lure Titans using their own means.
The gunfire massacre continued until the sky cleared, and by 9:30, the area outside the city was filled with Titan corpses.
The first three Titans that died left enormous skeletons on the grass; their flesh and blood had already evaporated.
The demolition squad, armed with adhesive grenades, delivered the final blow to the giants that were still alive.
One side of the grenade was coated with adhesive glue, allowing it to stick to the giant's nape when thrown.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Scout troops returned and found no other Titans within a five-kilometer radius. The troops began reorganizing according to the original plan and departed from Wall Rose in an orderly formation.
Someone was assigned to count the number of Titans killed. They took measuring instruments and went to measure the giants' heights.
The final statistics showed that a total of 3 Titans over 20 meters tall, 17 Titans over 15 meters, 43 Titans over 10 meters, and 65 Titans under 10 meters were killed.
The Titans over 20, 15, and 10 meters were not counted repeatedly. In other words, a total of 128 Titans were eliminated in just three and a half hours, with zero casualties.
The number of Titans killed had surpassed that of all soldiers in the history of the Scout Regiment, with the exception of Levi.
The only reason they could not surpass Levi was that there were not enough Titans around.
The initial results against the "Gatling machine gun" were flawless—a perfect score.
"I hereby declare this to be the first outpost established outside the outer gate of Trost District!"
The Wings of Freedom flag was planted outside the wall. Eight of the twelve Gatling machine guns installed outside the city wall were left behind. The rest of the force reorganized and departed toward the Shiganshina region in the prescribed fan formation.
The rain stopped, and sunlight illuminated the giant bones. The expedition continued toward Wall Maria, 130 kilometers away.
The Trost District recorder wrote in his report:
"From this day forward, humanity will no longer fear the Titans."