With the vision-clouding steam, their current position was certainly not ideal. Referring to his internal compass, Levi nodded his head in the direction of the gate.
"Follow me."
He fired another whistling line and jetted recklessly off the tower. His cape fluttered in the open air, and he took in the vast, sweeping view of the fortress and the surrounding countryside for a few suspended seconds. He dropped some six or seven meters before latching himself to the side of the tower with a second balancing line.
With timing too deplorable to be coincidence, Levi could see half a dozen titans swarming toward them on the ground -- some from the forest, some from the hilly plains to the south. Perhaps there were more coming from other directions, but these six were the most immediate threats. Securing the horses and supplies become priority number one; if he and Mikasa became stranded here without them, they were as good as dead. Of course, a typical titan would ignore their animals, but if the Ape Titan was involved, it became too big a risk.
Levi quickly surveyed the layout below. The gate itself was close to eight meters high and locked firmly shut. It lead directly to the courtyard, and above it were battlements set on a wall that stood at taller than twenty total meters. There they ought to be temporarily out of reach, making it a decent eventual destination.
Smaller titans had appeared in the courtyard, as well -- likely spurred to life by the same mysterious trigger -- but only one or two were in threatening proximity to the gate. Levi gave Mikasa her orders.
"We need to secure the horses," he said. "I'm leaving you to open the gate. Kill the nearby titans, then find the mechanism. I'll handle the ones outside and lead the horses in once the gate is down. From there, if things are clear, I'll be your guard while you reseal it. We won't be much safer inside, but at least we can keep more from coming in."
like delicious titan spam with a side of tl;dr
"Follow me."
He fired another whistling line and jetted recklessly off the tower. His cape fluttered in the open air, and he took in the vast, sweeping view of the fortress and the surrounding countryside for a few suspended seconds. He dropped some six or seven meters before latching himself to the side of the tower with a second balancing line.
With timing too deplorable to be coincidence, Levi could see half a dozen titans swarming toward them on the ground -- some from the forest, some from the hilly plains to the south. Perhaps there were more coming from other directions, but these six were the most immediate threats. Securing the horses and supplies become priority number one; if he and Mikasa became stranded here without them, they were as good as dead. Of course, a typical titan would ignore their animals, but if the Ape Titan was involved, it became too big a risk.
Levi quickly surveyed the layout below. The gate itself was close to eight meters high and locked firmly shut. It lead directly to the courtyard, and above it were battlements set on a wall that stood at taller than twenty total meters. There they ought to be temporarily out of reach, making it a decent eventual destination.
Smaller titans had appeared in the courtyard, as well -- likely spurred to life by the same mysterious trigger -- but only one or two were in threatening proximity to the gate. Levi gave Mikasa her orders.
"We need to secure the horses," he said. "I'm leaving you to open the gate. Kill the nearby titans, then find the mechanism. I'll handle the ones outside and lead the horses in once the gate is down. From there, if things are clear, I'll be your guard while you reseal it. We won't be much safer inside, but at least we can keep more from coming in."