Chapter 2: Second District
The Rose Wall was breached, and three massive boulders kicked through it had left the town inside in utter ruin.
"What happened? What in the world is going on?"
A farmer clutching a hoe stared in horror at the rubble a few meters away. Where there had once been a modest but sheltering home, only scattered debris and broken planks remained. This was his house.
"Impossible... impossible."
Stumbling over the wreckage, the farmer frantically dug through the rubble with his bare hands. Even as his palms were torn raw and his nails bent backward, he felt nothing. He was trying to dig out his wife and daughter.
But even if he managed to unearth them from the compacted debris, all that awaited him was despair.
This scene played out repeatedly within the Rose Wall, shattering the peaceful lives of humanity in an instant.
"Are those giants coming again? Just like five years ago."
A survivor of the Maria Wall's fall five years ago stared blankly at the massive hole in the wall. Back then, only the outer gate of Maria Wall had been breached, and it wasn't until the Armored Titan smashed through the inner gate that the wall was fully lost.
But this time, the Colossal Titan had directly kicked through the Rose Wall, creating three breaches in succession. Something was off.
With the Rose Wall breached, the civilians inside instinctively fled toward the inner Sina Wall.
But the Sina Wall was the noble district, the innermost of the three walls. Its enclosed area was far too small to accommodate these people, let alone provide them with the means to survive.
The crowd rushed past Su Xiao. He scanned the three holes in the Rose Wall and sighed inwardly. This Colossal Titan was fierce—perhaps even stronger than in the original story.
At that moment, Su Xiao hesitated. All three openings needed to be defended, but which direction should he guard?
He didn't have to worry about that decision. The Reincarnation Paradise had already arranged things.
Su Xiao looked at the breach ahead. The third district was directly in front of him.
The first district was to his left, the second to his right, and the third was in the center. The rear remained unbreached.
He sprinted toward the third district. From a distance, he could already see the figures of giants. Three giants had entered the wall—roughly five meters, seven meters, and ten meters tall.
Fortunately, these three giants stopped after entering the Rose Wall, as they were met with heavy firepower.
Boom.
A rocket-propelled grenade exploded on the face of the seven-meter giant. Flames surged, and smoke billowed.
This had to be the work of a contractor. The technology within the walls didn't include rocket launchers—at best, they had slightly advanced cannons.
Su Xiao, still running, looked at the blasted giant. As the smoke cleared, the seven-meter giant's face was blown open. Teeth and skull were exposed, and its entire lower jaw had been torn away.
For any normal creature, such an injury would be fatal. But giants were different. They had only one weak point: a narrow strip about one meter long and ten centimeters wide at the nape of the neck. Any other injury, no matter how severe, could be regenerated.
Sure enough, amidst the rising steam, the giant's head slowly began to recover. At this rate, it would be fully healed in a minute or two.
Thud... thud...
The ground trembled slightly—the sound of a giant moving.
After the first three giants had breached the wall, a fourth appeared. This one was about twelve meters tall. As it passed through the hole in the wall, it even had to duck to enter, a testament to its immense size.
The giants would only keep coming. These four were merely the vanguard.
There was some good news, though. Although these four giants had entered the wall, their advance quickly halted. Their bodies wobbled continuously, indicating they were under attack from the contractors.
When Su Xiao arrived at the third district, he found over thirty contractors already gathered there, with more arriving steadily.
"Attention, all contractors. I am Blood Rose, vice-captain of the Spider Lily Adventure Group."
A tall, graceful woman with wine-red hair shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
"Blood Rose" was clearly a code name. No one would be foolish enough to use their real name while navigating the Reincarnation Paradise.
Blood Rose's wine-red hair cascaded over her shoulders. A finely crafted deep-yellow leather armor hugged her figure, and she held a spear covered in spiral patterns—a blue-quality weapon.
Her shout was crisp, and the contractors who had been about to charge at the giants stopped in their tracks.
"Time is short, everyone. Please listen. We have three battle zones. Rest assured, the first district is being defended by our Spider Lily Adventure Group. As for the second district, it's held by the Brotherhood. I'm sure you've all heard of them.
In this derivative world, two permanent adventure groups have entered: the Brotherhood and our Spider Lily.
The first and second districts are fine. The real trouble is our third district. That's why our captain, Cold Moon, sent me here to help everyone defend it."
Hearing Blood Rose's words, the thirty-plus contractors fell silent for a moment.
"I've heard of the Spider Lily Adventure Group. It's an all-female group, and they're said to be strong."
"I... I'll follow Sister Blood Rose's lead."
"As long as we can complete the mission, I'll listen to anyone."
With a few contractors taking the lead, the others chimed in agreement.
"Give the order, Sister Blood Rose. How should we set up our formation?"
After most of the contractors had voiced their support, Blood Rose's red lips curled slightly.
While the contractors discussed their strategy, the four giants hadn't broken through the defense line. A few contractors were holding them back, apparently buying time for Blood Rose, having been won over by her words.
"Everyone, state your specialties. I'll arrange the formation based on your combat styles."
With a few sentences, Blood Rose had established herself as the leader of the third district. But the contractors weren't fools. Though they verbally agreed with her, each had their own agenda.
"I'm Iron Bull. I'm a stamina specialist. I can take a beating."
A burly middle-aged man carrying a tower shield stepped out of the crowd. His robust build suggested he was the tough, thick-skinned type.
Blood Rose's eyes lit up when she saw Iron Bull. A wild tank like this was rare.
"Iron Bull, right? The Spider Lily temporary squad welcomes you."
With that, Blood Rose patted Iron Bull on the shoulder, her slender fingers brushing against his neck.
Iron Bull swallowed hard and stole a glance at Blood Rose's curvaceous figure.
This woman... she's a temptress.
"And you, the handsome gentleman standing over there. Introduce your specialty."
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. After a quick mental calculation, he replied:
"White Night. Long-range gunner."
The Shattered Elf appeared in his hand, its fleeting green gleam lending credibility to his claim of being a gunner.
"Oh. I'll arrange for you later."
Blood Rose lost interest in Su Xiao, not even sparing him another glance.
Su Xiao was fine with that. With the situation unclear, he needed to observe first before deciding on his next move.