Boom! Boom! Boom!
The endless explosions rang beside their ears as Far Eastern shells rained down on the position like a storm. Miserable screams echoed without end, and everywhere were the wails of Middle Eastern soldiers.
Countless Middle Eastern soldiers were torn apart by the shockwaves and shrapnel from the shells. The yellow-brown sand was soaked in blood, and severed limbs could be seen everywhere.
Covered in dirt and trembling all over, Sibir curled up inside a shell crater with his hands over his head. Having never stepped onto a battlefield before, he had already been terrified out of his mind by the hellish scene before him.
Right in front of Sibir, a Middle Eastern soldier had completely lost everything below his waist, yet he still wasn't dead. Dragging himself forward with both hands, the soldier desperately crawled toward the only living person nearby—Sibir.
"Help... help me! I... I don't want to die... save me!"
A long trail of blood stretched behind him across the yellow earth, while his fresh intestines dragged several meters behind.
How could the young Sibir have ever seen something like this before? He immediately backed away in horror.
"Don't come over here!!"
But behind Sibir was the trench itself. There was nowhere left for him to retreat. Just as the soldier struggled close enough to touch Sibir's shoe, another figure rushed over and kicked the wailing soldier aside.
Lalo spat fiercely onto the ground and pulled his nephew up with a filthy hand.
"Damn it! What fucking bad luck! Kid, stop standing there like an idiot! Those Far Eastern bastards are about to charge over here! Grab your gun!"
But Sibir still stared blankly at the soldier trying to stuff his intestines back into his body with both hands.
Until his uncle Lalo viciously slapped him across the face.
Smack!
The stinging pain finally dragged Sibir back to reality.
"That guy's dead for sure! Stop fucking looking at him!"
The Far Eastern bombardment finally came to an end, but the Middle Eastern position was already covered in corpses. The smell of blood and gunpowder was so thick it made people want to sneeze.
The surviving Middle Eastern soldiers rushed back into position under the hoarse screams of the surviving officers.
But the Middle Eastern army's courage had already shattered.
The intensity of that bombardment was unlike anything the Middle Easterners had ever witnessed. The shells had fallen with terrifying density, like endless rain.
The Middle Easterners had always believed that they valued artillery more than any other nation in modern warfare, and their wars against Marley had proven it. Compared to Middle Eastern artillery, Marleyan bombardments had seemed like children throwing firecrackers.
But compared to the Far Eastern bombardment today...
Middle Eastern artillery had become the firecracker.
The three thousand Middle Eastern troops stationed here had nearly lost half their numbers instantly. The remaining soldiers were all terrified out of their minds, yet under threats from their officers, they still forced themselves back onto the front lines, praying that another round of such hopeless shelling would not come.
Sibir huddled beside his uncle, while even Lalo had completely lost the relaxed attitude he used while boasting earlier. He kept muttering in disbelief.
"How is this possible...? Since when did those Far Eastern bastards become this strong...?"
The Middle Eastern soldiers raised their rifles nervously and stared toward the front of the position.
Dark masses slowly appeared along the distant horizon.
Sibir's heart instantly leapt into his throat.
"The Far Easterners are here! Prepare for battle!!"
Clack! Clack!
Every Middle Eastern soldier pulled back their bolts. Machine guns were loaded, while the surviving artillery pieces adjusted their barrels under the frantic operation of the artillery crews.
But then—
That horrifying whistling sound from the sky rang out once again.
"More shells!!" a Middle Eastern soldier cried out in despair.
Sibir and his uncle also stared blankly and hopelessly at the sky.
They knew...
Everything was over.
However, although countless shrieking sounds came from above and numerous shell-like objects fell from the sky, not a single explosion occurred on the Middle Eastern position.
Bang!!
A silver object landed right in front of Sibir and his uncle, sending dust flying everywhere.
Only after brushing away the dust did the two finally see what it was—
A cylindrical iron canister with an incredibly smooth surface.
"Not a shell!?" Sibir stared at the iron canister in shock, instinctively wanting to step closer and see what the Far Easterners were trying to do.
But the next second—
Crack!
The iron canister suddenly split open.
Lalo reacted first. Without even thinking, he threw himself onto his nephew.
During the last war against Marley, Sibir's father had died protecting him, so Lalo had sworn to protect Sibir even if it cost him his life.
Fortunately, the canister did not explode.
Instead, it sprayed out a massive amount of green liquid and smoke, splattering all over Lalo's face.
"Kid! Are you trying to get yourself killed!?"
Wiping the green fluid off his face, Lalo harshly scolded his nephew.
But soon, he realized something was wrong.
His eyes...
His eyes hurt terribly!
His nose... his nose hurt too!
His head! His neck! His chest! His heart!
Everything hurt!
Burning!
A horrifying, soul-rending burning sensation!
"AAAAHHHH!!"
Lalo let out a scream filled with agony. Large amounts of bloody fluid burst from his brown eyes, while blood also poured from his mouth, nose, and ears.
The horrific sight left Sibir completely stunned.
"Uncle! Uncle! What's wrong with you!?"
Lalo wasn't the only one screaming on the battlefield.
Hundreds of Middle Eastern soldiers who had been sprayed in the face by the Far Eastern canisters were now lying on the ground, bleeding from all seven orifices as they writhed and screamed in agony.
"Uncle! Uncle! No!"
Sibir's eyes widened as his body uncontrollably weakened.
Right before him, crimson lightning suddenly erupted across Uncle Lalo's body, while his entire figure began twisting unnaturally.
"Si... Sibir... run... RUN!"
Using the last shred of his sanity, Lalo roared out his final words.
BOOM!!!
Terrifying steam exploded outward as an enormous, blood-covered figure burst through the steam, releasing a horrifying roar.
"A Titan! How can there be Titans here!! Why have my soldiers turned into Titans!? Impossible! Titans are supposed to be Eldian devils!!"
The Middle Eastern officer could not believe the hellish scene before his eyes.
Crimson lightning erupted across the bodies of hundreds of Middle Eastern soldiers.
The next moment, hundreds of grotesque, twisted Titans rose within the Middle Eastern position.
The Middle Eastern officer's eyes nearly split apart from shock and rage.
But these Titans were different from the Marleyan Titans the officer had seen before.
No matter their size, every one of them looked like skinless masses of flesh. Disgusting crimson blood constantly flowed over their bodies, while chunks of flesh continuously fell from them due to the lack of skin.
At the same time, their bodies vented steam nonstop, as though steam engines had been installed inside them.
No matter how unwilling the Middle Eastern officer was to believe it, the reality remained—
Hundreds of blood-soaked Titans had appeared inside the position.
Driven purely by instinct, the disgusting twisted Titans immediately lunged toward the living humans around them.
This time, the screams echoing across the Middle Eastern position truly sounded like the song of hell itself.
"No! No, no! How could this happen!? NOOO!!"
Even as half his body was bitten into the mouth of a Blood Titan, the Middle Eastern officer still refused to believe what was happening.
As the Titan bit down, half of the officer's body fell together with the Titan's uncontrollably spilling brain matter.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo