"As new recruits of the Survey Corps, you must become proficient in the Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation." Ness stood at the lectern, pointing at the rows of lines on the blackboard.
Opposite Ness stood thirty-two new recruits of the Survey Corps.
Yago wore a borrowed jacket that was a bit small and listened as Ness explained the Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation.
The Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation was created by the current commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith. After this formation was introduced, the Survey Corps' casualty rate dropped from the original sixty percent to thirty percent.
This greatly boosted the morale of the Survey Corps soldiers conducting operations outside the Walls.
The original intention behind creating the Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation was not to fight Titans, but primarily to avoid them. The entire corps spreads out and advances in a semicircular square formation.
Each squad maintains contact through signal flares. The formation spreads outward, layered like a thousand-layer loaf of bread, one layer wrapped around another.
Combat squads are distributed along the flanks and outer perimeter, while the supply squads, logistics units, headquarters, and reserve horses are positioned at the very center of the formation.
If the outermost combat units discover Titans, they should immediately issue a warning via signal flares. Upon encountering ordinary Titans, a red signal flare is fired. If other squads see red signal flares appearing in one direction, they will also fire red flares, passing the signal layer by layer until it reaches the headquarters at the center of the formation.
Immediately afterward, the commander will order the troops to prioritize avoiding those Titans and continue advancing, doing their best to avoid direct confrontation.
Of course, uncontrollable situations may arise that make combat unavoidable. If the combat losses are severe and the basic formation can no longer be maintained, the surviving combat personnel must fire yellow signal flares as a warning.
That applies to encounters with ordinary Titans. If an abnormal Titan is encountered, ordinary combat squads may be unable to handle it. In that case, black signal flares must be fired, and the commander will decide whether elite squads within the Survey Corps should be dispatched to eliminate the abnormal Titan.
If everything proceeds smoothly, green signal flares are fired to indicate continued advance. When the mission is completed, or when the Survey Corps suffers extremely heavy losses, blue signal flares indicate a full retreat.
Commander Erwin made excellent use of the Survey Corps' flexible mobility. With this Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation, they could basically avoid eighty percent of Titans.
Yago greatly admired Commander Erwin. This Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation was indeed very close to perfect. Before Commander Erwin, previous Survey Corps commanders were generally extremely aggressive, and when encountering large numbers of Titans, the losses were devastating.
Yago roughly understood the overall principles of the Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation. At this time, Ness also pointed out the combat positions for the recruit squads in the expedition beyond the Walls one month later.
"Your recruit squads are assigned to the right side, roughly divided into six squads, positioned on the flank of the supply squads and the reserve horses." Ness pointed to a spot on the formation diagram on the blackboard.
Yago pondered this, and then noticed that Annie beside him was trembling slightly.
"Annie, what's wrong?" Yago asked with concern.
Annie shook her head, but there was a trace of panic in her eyes as she recalled yesterday's conversation.
"One month from now we must capture Eren, you understand, right? Annie, only you can do it. With my speed and Bertholdt's, we can't break away from the center of the Survey Corps. Annie, once we get Eren, we'll return to our hometown..."
"No, but I..."
"Think about your father..."
Seeing that Annie was clearly troubled, Yago wanted to comfort her, but didn't know what to say.
Because they were sitting in the last row, Yago steeled himself and reached out, directly taking Annie's small hand.
Annie was completely stunned by the sudden action, her eyes widening as she stared at Yago.
Yago smiled and said, "Annie, if there's anything, you can tell me. I'm here." The look in his eyes as he gazed at Annie was extremely gentle.
Annie's heart trembled. Feeling the warmth in her hand, in that moment she truly wanted to tell Yago everything—but then she thought of her father back home.
"Annie, you must come back alive! Even if the whole world becomes your enemy, even if the entire world hates you... Dad will definitely stand on your side."
In her heart, Annie silently recited, "I'm sorry, Yago. I don't deserve this. I only have eight years left. Father is still waiting for me. I'm sorry."
Annie's gaze suddenly hardened with resolve. Since that was the case, she should keep her distance from Yago. She didn't want to drag him down.
Annie gently brushed Yago's hand away and said softly, "I'm really fine."
Yago sensed the faint feeling of distance in Annie's tone, and his heart instantly chilled. What was going on? Had he done something that made Annie dislike him?
Yago fell into self-doubt.
After class, Annie silently packed up her things and left alone. In the past, Annie would always wait to leave together with Yago. On the way, Yago would chatter endlessly while Annie listened quietly—but now...
Yago stood up in a daze, watching Annie's retreating figure. A deep sense of loss welled up in his heart, and he had no idea what had happened to Annie.
Walking along the road, Yago reflected on what he had done recently. Suddenly, he noticed a crowd of new recruits gathered ahead. He moved closer to take a look—it turned out to be Eren.
To be honest, Eren looked quite charismatic wearing the Survey Corps uniform.
Mikasa circled Eren nonstop.
"Eren, they didn't bully you, did they?"
"Eren, are you hungry?"
"Eren, did you sleep well last night?"
"Eren, are you okay without me by your side?"
"Eren... Eren... Eren..."
Mikasa's eyes were filled entirely with Eren.
Eren finally managed to break free from Mikasa's concern and looked at the companions around him.
"Everyone, you're all here? Hey, didn't Yago join the Survey Corps?"
Yago squeezed through the crowd.
"What are you talking about? Aren't I right here?"
"So only Marco, Annie, and Jean didn't join?" Eren scratched his head.
Jean popped out at this moment.
"Damn it, Eren, what are you saying? Marco was injured and can't enlist, and besides, Annie also joined the Survey Corps."
Eren was surprised. "What? Then did no one join the Military Police?"
Mina answered from the side, "This time the Military Police limited their slots to the top twenty, so there were still a few people who went."
Seeing Mina reminded Eren of Thomas and the others who had once said they would join the Survey Corps together.
His expression grew slightly dim. Everyone crowded around Eren, chattering excitedly—after all, the Eren before them was someone who could turn into a Titan.
At this moment, Yago noticed Annie standing alone off to the side again, looking somewhat lonely. Yago turned around, wanting to go over, but Annie immediately noticed him and walked straight to the other side.
Crack—Yago felt as if something inside his heart had shattered.
"Hey! Recruits, assemble! Your uniforms have arrived!" Ness waved his hand and shouted loudly.
Everyone said goodbye to Eren. Mikasa looked at Eren with great reluctance, but the moment Eren turned around, a murderous aura suddenly erupted from Mikasa.
Armin jumped in fright. "Mikasa, what's wrong with you?"
Mikasa said with a dark expression,
"Eren has lost weight. Someone must have bullied Eren. Sooner or later, I'll make that bastard pay!"
Armin: "You mean, Captain Levi?"
...
The recruits put on the Survey Corps uniforms and fastened the green cloaks. A light breeze rose, stirring the Wings of Freedom woven from blue and white feathers.