"The fifty-seventh expedition beyond the walls—begin! Advance!" Commander Erwin roared as he raised his blade.
The heavy city gate slowly opened with creaking groans.
Spurred on by Commander Erwin's rallying cry, all the soldiers of the Survey Corps raised their blades and followed their commander, roaring as they charged out through the gate.
Horses thundered forward, hooves striking stone slabs, the sound rumbling like thunder.
"Survey Corps, everyone—may you return victorious!" the Garrison soldiers atop the wall shouted down to the departing troops.
Countless onlooking civilians nearby also cheered and encouraged the Survey Corps.
Yago saw the light flicker in the eyes of the people around him, as if filled with hope.
More than three hundred Survey Corps soldiers streamed out through the gate in single file. Yago narrowed his eyes as the shadow of the wall swept across his figure. Passing through the gate, what met his eyes was a ruined district.
Once a bustling area, it had been abandoned by humanity after Wall Maria was breached. Titans then occupied the place; broken walls lay everywhere, moss spreading across the ruins.
Yago galloped forward on horseback. From time to time, the hiss of gas jets sounded by his ears, as soldiers cloaked in the Wings of Freedom flashed and leapt between buildings.
"That's the covering squad. They're responsible for protecting the main force's safety in the main streets and slaying the Titans in the district. All we need to do is advance at full speed," a Survey Corps soldier explained the identity of those Wings of Freedom.
Yago calmly observed the surroundings. From the corner of his eye, he saw a Titan approaching the formation from the left, and his hand unconsciously reached for the hilt.
"Trust the covering squad!" Ness seemed to read Yago's intent and shouted without turning his head. Yago hesitated slightly, but still loosened his grip on the hilt.
Sure enough, several Wings of Freedom circled the Titan. Soon, flesh from its nape flew as it collapsed. The covering squad were all elites of the Survey Corps.
One by one, the Titans in the district that had survived the Garrison's artillery fell under the blades of the covering squad.
Before long, the main force could vaguely see the exit of the district. Beyond it lay open ground, and the covering squad's protection would end at the exit.
"Advance! Advance!" Even from the rear of the formation, Yago could faintly hear Commander Erwin's furious roar.
Whoosh! Yago spurred his horse and charged straight out through the exit.
"All units! Spread out according to the Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation!" Commander Erwin ordered calmly.
At once, the Survey Corps pouring out of the exit rapidly spread out according to the Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation they knew by heart. Several hundred people gradually fanned out, the extended battle line stretching for several kilometers. A sufficiently long battle line was the key to the Survey Corps' ability to react in time.
Yago cast a worried glance toward the right wing. Annie was over there.
But now was not the time to think about that. Yago forced himself to focus, staring ahead. Before him stretched a vast plain.
"Bang! Bang!" Soon, columns of red smoke rose in the distance—the signal for Titans spotted. Immediately, the entire Survey Corps began maneuvering, detouring far around clusters of Titans.
"Something's not right. How can there be so many Titans? The Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation hasn't fully deployed yet," Ness muttered to himself.
Hearing this, Yago's worry deepened.
...
Elsewhere, "Damn it! That's an abnormal!" A Squad Leader named Chiro on the right-side scouting unit turned pale when he saw, several hundred meters away in a small patch of woods, a Titan running with its legs clamped together—yet moving at astonishing speed—approaching.
"I'll take care of it." Annie beside Chiro suddenly said calmly.
"What? Leave that to us. You recruits just—hey! Wait! Recruit Annie!" Before Squad Leader Chiro could finish, Annie launched herself straight off her horse, activating her Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and leaping toward the abnormal Titan.
Gritting his teeth, Squad Leader Chiro also fired a black signal flare indicating an abnormal had been found.
As Annie flew through the air, a trace of tears suddenly welled at the corner of her eyes. Each of her hands gripping the twin blades bore a ring.
"Quick, support Recruit Annie!" Squad Leader Chiro urgently ordered the Survey Corps soldiers around him.
"Squad Leader Chiro! Look! That abnormal has been taken down!" A Survey Corps soldier pointed in the abnormal's direction.
Chiro looked over. Sure enough, the leg-clamping abnormal Titan was shrouded in steam, swaying as it was about to fall.
"Well done! But—where's Recruit Annie?"
"Rooaaar!!" Suddenly, a strange, eerie howl came from the direction of the abnormal Titan. Before Chiro could react, a nearby Survey Corps soldier shouted in terror,
"Squad Leader Chiro! Titans! So many Titans! And several abnormal Titans!"
"What?" Chiro was shocked and hurriedly observed. Sure enough, more than twenty Titans—including several three-to-four-meter abnormal Titans with bizarre postures—were charging madly toward them.
"Damn it! Send the signal! There's no time to evade—we need support! Rohan, go request reinforcements!" With no time to receive Annie, Chiro immediately deployed his unit and rapidly fired multiple signal flares as a warning.
...
"Captain! There's an abnormal Titan straight ahead!" Ness stared grimly at the abnormal Titan approaching with bared fangs.
"Hiss! Coordinate with me. I'll draw its attention. You look for an opening to cut the nape!" Ness commanded. A trace of cold sweat beaded on his forehead—there weren't many tall structures around for the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to work with.
"Yes, Captain!" the soldier Hiss replied. But suddenly, a figure streaked past the two of them at high speed.
"Yago?!"
The grappling hook of the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment drove deep into the abnormal's belly. Yago leapt off his horse, closing in on the abnormal.
Whoosh! The abnormal Titan was incredibly fast. A huge palm swept horizontally toward Yago, carrying a fierce gust.
Yago abruptly reeled in the right grappling hook, shifting his center of gravity left. The left cable dragged him sharply to the side at high speed, deftly avoiding the abnormal Titan's slap.
Bang! Yago accelerated again midair. The gas jets blasted behind him as he drifted to the abnormal Titan's back.
Aiming at the nape, he fired the grappling hook hard, embedding it deep into the abnormal Titan's nape.
The powerful retraction rapidly closed the distance between Yago and the abnormal Titan.
A cold flash—Yago drew his blades like lightning, locking precisely onto the abnormal's nape. The twin blades formed a straight line as they cut in fast, accurate, and ruthless.
Like a hot knife, Yago's blades met no resistance, cleanly slicing away the flesh of the Titan's nape.
Flicking off the scalding, evaporating Titan blood from his blades, Yago neatly returned to his horse and rejoined Ness's unit.
"Good kid! Worthy of being the Levi among the recruits—your skills are truly as outstanding as the captain's!" Ness gave Yago a thumbs-up.
Yago complained weakly,
"I don't want to be compared to that guy. If I don't grow taller, are you taking responsibility?"
Ness burst into laughter. Suddenly, signal flares rising on the right caught their attention.