Weight of Intelligence

Weight of Intelligence

Eren ran to his mother's side, staring wide-eyed at the figure climbing down from the steaming Titan corpse.

Even Mikasa, who had always cared only about Eren and reacted coldly to everything else, wore a dazed, adorably blank expression.

As for Hannes, who understood even better how terrifying Titans were and possessed some strength himself, he was even less able to suppress the shock in his heart.

Jumping down from the Titan's corpse, Xu Yue walked over to the body of the one-eyed man with the eyepatch. He pulled several Kunai enhanced with heart-membrane patterns from the corpse, flicked off the Blood Water, and tucked them back into his blade pouch.

Other than his speed advantage, this guy's abilities had been utterly pathetic. The instant he dodged the Titan and turned back in brief shock, several Kunai had easily taken his life...

You have actively killed a Reincarnator. Based on the weighting of both sides, 752 Reincarnation Points have been deducted.

The kill penalty did not concern Xu Yue much. There was a deduction for initiating an attack and another for killing afterward. The protection provided by cooperative mode really was strong.

Still, with only one person involved, he could bear the penalty.

Afterward, Xu Yue looked at Eren's pinned-down mother, then at the Titan he had killed, and could not help curling his lip.

Although this Titan still lacked reason, she had actually been Eren's father's first wife. A pitiful woman from the Resistance Army, she had been captured, injected with Titan Spinal Fluid, turned into a Pure Titan, and abandoned on this island.

Strictly speaking, this was a classic melodramatic case of the original wife coming after the mistress.

After letting his thoughts wander for a moment, Xu Yue walked to the ruins of the collapsed house. Looking at Carla—Eren's mother—who was pinned beneath it, pale-faced and unconscious, he merely glanced over her before saying,

"She's been crushed for too long. She can't be saved."

Crush Syndrome was a common condition often encountered during earthquake rescue operations and had caused the deaths of many trapped victims. Localized compression caused limb tissue to die and release large amounts of potassium. Once the heavy object was loosened and removed, the potassium entered the bloodstream and caused cardiac arrest.

"Impossible! You liar! Mom was talking to us just now! She was full of energy just now!"

After hearing Xu Yue's words, Eren snapped out of his shock at Xu Yue's feat of taking down a Titan single-handedly, his face filled with fury.

Xu Yue glanced at the brat but did not explain that it was their repeated failed attempts to move the debris that had caused this outcome. If they had not messed around, then once he arrived, amputated the limb, and used the Antibiotics in the Medical Kit to prevent infection, saving her life would still have been possible.

He then turned to look at Hannes.

With a heavy expression, Hannes walked to Carla's side and reached out to touch the back of her neck. Then he sighed and shook his head at Eren.

"I don't believe you! You're lying to me!"

Xu Yue had no intention of indulging such a brat. He struck Eren directly on the neck, knocking him unconscious. Mikasa tried to attack Xu Yue from the side, but Xu Yue held down her little head. With her short arms and legs, she could not reach him at all.

He knocked her out as well, then handed her over to Hannes.

"They're yours."

As he spoke, he walked toward the ruins of Eren's house. After forcefully tossing aside several pieces of broken wood, he revealed the entrance to the basement and walked straight inside without hesitation.

The notebook Eren's father had left behind recorded a great deal about the Titans' background and the truth!

It was a highly useful "quest item" for his objective, the source of all "reasonable" explanations...

Boom!

A cannon fired, and smoke rose before the gate of Wall Maria.

But the cannons were old, the operators poorly trained, and hitting anything depended entirely on faith.

Despite the Titan's enormous size, they could not hit the Abnormal Titan rapidly approaching them.

The Abnormal Titan's flamboyant running posture was truly ridiculous.

Yet given a Titan's speed and its sole instinct to eat people, no one could laugh.

"N-No good! We can't stop it!"

The Garrison Regiment soldiers, who had never experienced fighting Titans, finally suffered a collapse in morale as the Titan drew closer. They abandoned the cannons and fled through the gate.

Meanwhile, the Reincarnators of Yanzi Squad waited with complete focus.

"Our Main Mission requires us to kill one Titan, but it does not require us to kill one alone. So long as we work together to kill the Titan before us, we can complete the Main Mission!"

"After that, the prestige we gain from killing a Titan will be enough to get us into Wall Rose. Then whether we advance or retreat will be entirely up to us."

"Gentlemen, whether we can gain anything from this mission and retreat unscathed depends entirely on this moment!"

Although Mo Yan, the leader of Yanzi Squad, had always acted indifferent, her ability was beyond doubt. Even with a plan changed on the fly, she remained methodical.

In just a few words, she made clear the necessity of killing the Titan before them. It directly concerned everyone's personal interests. She did not talk about teams or legions, instead using personal gain to ignite everyone's motivation.

"It's only one Titan. Let's show it what we can do!"

"We already know the Titans' weakness. We just need to attack the nape!"

"They're powerful, but not very agile. Don't take them head-on. We'll circle around and attack."

There was room to refuse the legion's missions, but the mission issued by the space had already driven them into a corner.

Every one of them had to kill a Titan. Even for the members of the elite Yanzi Squad, that was an immense pressure!

Wei Yan, the squad member with the strongest defensive abilities, made the first probing move.

His entire body took on a metallic sheen as he charged toward the Titan's side, attempting to circle behind it.

Wu Yan and several other close-combat members charged from the opposite direction. If the Titan's attention was drawn to Wei Yan, they would be able to launch an attack from behind.

And if the Titan focused on them instead, they could create an opportunity for Wei Yan!

In such a short time, Yanzi Squad displayed seamless coordination. Both their individual caliber and teamwork were perfectly demonstrated.

Wood Clone Two stood beneath an eave with his arms folded, watching the battlefield ahead with the same gentle smile on his face.

Such coordinated teamwork. An ordinary Titan would be easily killed.

Unfortunately, this is an Abnormal Titan...

Thwack!

A twisted kick that completely defied human anatomy came from an impossible angle, carrying a terrifying rush of wind as it lashed toward Wei Yan at the Titan's side.

Wei Yan, who had nearly made it past the Titan's flank, had not prepared himself at all. He had never expected such a move.

He only had time to barely raise both arms in front of himself before he was sent flying like a cannonball.

He crashed through a wooden house and was completely buried beneath the rubble.

That bizarre attack angle meant the Titan had not even turned to face Wei Yan, leaving the other close-combat members led by Wu Yan with no chance to reach its back either.

They had already charged halfway in. Their fire-drawing tank had been sent flying, but they had no choice except to press on.

Otherwise, the Titan's ten-meter strides would catch them from behind and crush them one by one. Its lack of agility did not mean it lacked running speed!

"We'll split—"

Before Wu Yan, the close-combat captain, could issue a new command, he followed in the footsteps of Wei Yan, their main tank.

Different kinds of Abnormal Titans had all sorts of strange behavioral patterns. This one clearly possessed speed beyond that of ordinary Titans, and its limb joints could rotate a full three hundred and sixty degrees!

Unlike Wei Yan, whose defenses were exceptional, Wu Yan clearly heard the teeth-grinding sound of bones breaking after being struck. He flew away in a spray of blood.

Despite possessing strength close to—or even reaching—that of a lower-ranked ninja, and despite their seamless teamwork, their lack of effective intelligence about this Abnormal Titan's behavior had crippled two of Yanzi Squad's main forces in an extremely short time!

Today, two chapters—so I'm shamelessly asking for votes!