Wilderness March Training

"Don't think fools like you can easily complete this training just because the route is so simple! You're dead wrong! In times of crisis, a soldier is a soldier. Whatever happens, never lose your fighting spirit, never let boredom break you, and never let peace hold you back! This march is a battle in itself. Do you understand?" Instructor Keith shouted.

Facing him were the cadets of the 104th Cadet Corps, who had already spent several months in training. Their faces now bore a look of determination. Ever since they had begun training with the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, blood and death had become real sights before their eyes.

To train the cadets' reflexes and ability to respond to emergencies, the instructors would randomly cut their cables as they climbed cliffs using their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. Some cadets had actually suffered severe injuries from the falls.

As for today's exercise, wilderness march training meant exactly what the name suggested: marching through the wilderness. But unlike the time Mark and Jean had gotten lost, the cadets were now equipped with complete sets of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, and each soldier also had a horse to ride.

The exercise roughly involved dividing the cadets into two squads that would set out from different locations, carrying different intelligence. After exchanging that intelligence at an agreed meeting point, they would return to the training base along the other squad's route. The total distance was a little over forty kilometers.

The purpose of this exercise was to teach the cadets to remain alert to danger even when there was nothing to make them feel threatened.

Of course, the two hundred-plus cadets couldn't possibly be divided into just two squads. They were split into roughly ten squads, each with anywhere from a dozen to over twenty members. Two squads formed a pair, with different routes and meeting points for each pair. Assignments were random and had little to do with their original squads.

For example, Yago, Thomas, and Ili had been assigned together, while Eren, Armin, Mina, and Maddie were in the squad that would rendezvous with theirs.

Yago's squad was Squad Two, and naturally, he was its leader. Thomas served as the recorder, responsible for writing down everything that happened during the exercise.

Yago rode at the head, with the twenty-odd members of Squad Two following close behind.

The horses moved quickly, and the group soon reached a stretch of desert terrain. The sun was still scorching. Yago's strong constitution made it bearable for him, but some of the girls in the squad were struggling. Mikasa and Annie, of course, were exceptions. Mikasa was still wearing the red scarf Eren had given her, and her expression looked a little strained, clearly because she resented not being assigned to his squad.

As for Annie, well, walking up beside her was enough to make the temperature feel like it had instantly dropped two degrees.

But seeing the sun beat down on Annie's fair skin, Yago couldn't quite bear it. He took off his uniform jacket and guided his horse over to her, then draped the jacket over her head as she watched him in confusion.

"With the sun this harsh, you don't want that fair face getting all tanned."

The boys in the squad were awestruck by this move and hurried to copy him. Before long, almost every girl in the squad had a jacket draped over her.

Bertholdt looked at Annie, hesitating. Just then, a girl with a faint scattering of freckles looked at him hopefully. Bertholdt smiled and handed his jacket to her.

Thomas studied the map while talking to Reiner beside him. "We're here now. We should reach this forest in about another five kilometers, and we ought to meet up with Mark and the others tomorrow morning."

Once he had confirmed their position, Thomas went to explain the situation to Yago, who agreed.

When they reached the forest, Yago leaned over beside Thomas to study the map. "Then let's rest here tonight," he said, pointing to a clearing.

"Oh? Good spot," Reiner said. "This place is perfect for keeping watch at night. That's our squad leader for you-always thinking everything through!"

Yago fell silent. Could he really admit that he had only pointed at it at random because the ground looked fairly level?

After reaching the clearing, everyone began making preparations, laying out their sleeping bags, lighting a campfire, and taking out their rations for dinner. Just then, Yago suddenly activated his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. With a hiss of gas, he rose to the top of a large tree.

Everyone was a little bewildered. What was he doing? Yago offered no explanation. He carefully scanned his surroundings until he seemed to spot something. Gripping his handles, he inserted them into the scabbards on either side of his waist. With a swish, the blades came free in a cold flash of steel, and he raised both swords.

He squeezed the triggers, sending his cables shooting out, and hurtled toward the ground. His blades flashed twice in quick succession, followed by two thuds as something hit the ground.

Carried forward by his momentum, Yago planted both feet on the ground. His boots plowed two deep furrows through the dirt, sliding another four or five meters before he finally stopped.

"Whoa! Awesome! That's incredible! That's Yago for you!" Ili exclaimed, lifting two plump rabbits. Blood seeped from their necks, each throat cut with a single stroke, and their short little legs still twitched now and then.

The sight made a few of the girls uncomfortable. One couldn't help saying, "But rabbits are so cute..." Yago cut her off. "Bunnies are so cute, you've got to eat a couple more pieces!"

With his excellent eyesight, Yago had spotted the two rabbits huddled in the grass. The humans' movements had then frightened them into running, so he had used his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to see whether he could catch them. And hey, it had actually worked!

Yago understood what the girl meant. People instinctively felt sorry for animals about to be slaughtered, but when it came time to eat, they enjoyed the meat just the same. They might even eat more than anyone else.

Yago was genuinely surprised to discover that Ili could cook. In Ili's hands, the two rabbits were soon cut into chunks and put into the pot. Before long, a delicious aroma spread through the air. For cadets who would have nothing but bland rations to eat tomorrow, the smell was truly irresistible!

The girls who had just secretly resolved not to eat the cute bunnies soon changed their minds. Who could turn down a bowl of rabbit soup that looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful?

Mikasa's eyes held a hint of worry. Yago brought her a bowl of soup. "Mikasa, what's wrong? Missing Eren?" She took the soup. "No. I just have a bad feeling."

"Huh? You're worried about Eren, right?" Yago assumed she was thinking about him.

Mikasa fell silent. Although she really did only have eyes for Eren, that didn't mean she thought about him at every moment, wherever she was. Her performance was hardly any worse than Yago's, after all. At the very least, she truly had sensed something wrong just now. It was the Ackermans' innate intuition.

The large pot of delicious rabbit soup was polished off just like that. Even the girl who had felt sorry for the bunnies ate two bowls with tears in her eyes. Ili wore a faint smile, seemingly pleased with everyone's response. Yago walked over to him. "I never would've guessed, Ili. With cooking like this, you could be a chef," he said admiringly.

Ili's eyes grew a little downcast. "Yeah. My dream used to be to become a chef. It's a shame."

"Did something happen after that?" Yago asked. "How did you end up joining the Training Corps?"

"I... Ah, actually... It's all in the past. It's nothing." Seeing that Ili didn't want to talk about it, Yago didn't press him. He patted his shoulder, then left to get some rest.