The calm before the storm

Night fell. For the recruits of the 104th Cadet Corps, this was destined to be a sleepless night. Tomorrow evening, the three military regiments would come to recruit new members, and those who had once been comrades would go their separate ways.

At dawn the next day, Yago collected his assignment as usual. Graduating that evening did not mean they could skip their duties. There was still work to do on their last day.

Yago was assigned to inventory the training equipment at the Garrison Regiment. Some of the equipment the Training Corps used, such as Titan models and aerial balance simulators, was stored there. With their class about to graduate, recruitment for the next class was imminent, so the equipment needed to be counted and logged.

It was an easy assignment, and only Ili accompanied Yago. Most of the others had much heavier workloads. Eren and his group, for instance, had gone up onto the wall to service the mounted cannons. Ever since the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan had breached Wall Maria, the Garrison Regiment had comprehensively upgraded the wall-mounted artillery.

Both the number and power of the cannons had increased dramatically. There was now almost one cannon every ten-odd meters, providing unprecedented firepower. This also meant that maintaining them required an enormous workforce. Ordinarily, artillery maintenance was the Garrison Regiment's responsibility, but these days they often had to enlist the Training Corps to finish on time.

Yago and Ili chatted as they walked, until someone suddenly blocked their path. Yago looked up and saw that it was Annie.

"What's wrong, Annie? Need something?" Yago asked. Annie looked troubled, and her gaze shifted evasively as she asked in a hesitant voice, "Yago, what's your assignment?"

Yago was puzzled. Why was Annie asking about that? "Ili and I are going to inventory the training equipment at the Garrison Regiment. Why? Annie, do you want to swap assignments?"

When she heard that Yago would be counting equipment rather than maintaining cannons on the wall, Annie seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "It's nothing. I... I just wanted to ask." With that, she left, leaving Yago utterly bewildered.

Ili laughed. "Yago, I have to hand it to you. You actually like a girl as cold as Annie."

Yago cleared his throat. "Just because you've figured it out doesn't mean you have to say it. Anyway, Ili, I remember you once said you wanted to be a chef. You still haven't told me why you came here to become a soldier."

Ili's expression changed, but after a moment, he sighed. "There's not much to tell, really. My father taught me how to cook. Three years ago, he..." A murderous glint appeared in Ili's eyes.

Yago sensed that something was wrong and did not feel right pressing him, but Ili continued on his own. "My father worked for a minor noble. While he was escorting a shipment of grain, refugees stole it. Then the noble had him..."

By that point, Yago could more or less guess what had happened next. "So you joined the Training Corps to...?"

"Originally, it was to get revenge. But now, there's no need. Two years ago, I heard that bandits had pillaged that minor noble's estate and left nothing alive. Served him right, too, after all the terrible things he'd done." A trace of satisfaction crossed Ili's face.

"Then what are you planning to do now, Ili?" Yago asked.

Ili looked a little lost himself. "I don't know. My father was my only family. Maybe I'll join the Garrison Regiment, find a wife, and spend the rest of my life like that."

Yago did not know what to say, so he could only offer Ili a few words of comfort. Fortunately, Ili soon recovered and stopped dwelling on the painful past. The two continued chatting as they headed toward the Garrison Regiment's base.

When they reached another stretch of street, they found crowds of citizens lining both sides. After asking around, they learned that the Survey Corps was about to embark on its fifty-sixth expedition beyond the walls. As the sound of approaching wagons grew louder, Yago and Ili caught sight of the many Survey Corps soldiers wearing Wings of Freedom cloaks.

They rode tall horses, their faces solemn but proud, their eyes full of hope. They were clearly different from the Garrison Regiment soldiers who usually spent their days idling away.

"Impressive. The Survey Corps' morale is so much better than it used to be!" Yago said with feeling. After all, it was the Survey Corps that had brought him back from beyond the walls. Their morale had been low back then, and public opinion had been harsh. People had considered them a pointless waste of lives and money.

But ever since the Titans had breached the wall, the Survey Corps had drawn more and more attention. They were like a light bringing people hope in the darkness, because they dared to fight the Titans. People now had high expectations of them. Most importantly, over the past five years, every expedition beyond the walls had yielded significant results. They had established numerous small outposts outside the walls and achieved a great deal.

The cheers and praise from the crowd made it clear just how popular the Survey Corps had become. "Commander Erwin! Drive out those damned Titans!" "The Survey Corps! They're so cool!" "Look! Captain Levi! He's humanity's strongest soldier! Everyone, look!"

Yago immediately spotted the short man he had overlooked back then-Levi. Even on horseback among the many tall soldiers, Levi looked tiny. With his dead-fish eyes and cold expression, it was hard to imagine that he was humanity's strongest soldier. They said Levi alone was worth a brigade of elite soldiers.

How many men were in a brigade? More than four hundred. That showed just how powerful Levi was. Besides Levi, Yago saw plenty of familiar faces: Commander Erwin at the front, his face resolute; behind him, the bespectacled Squad Leader Hange, who was a little too enthusiastic about Titans; the composed Squad Leader Miche; and Scott, the logistics squad leader following behind the wagons.

Standing in the crowd, Yago felt a surge of emotion. In just a few days, he would be one of them!

The Survey Corps' long procession gradually departed, and Yago and Ili hurried toward the Garrison Regiment's base. They still had an assignment to finish.

As luck would have it, the Garrison Regiment officer assigned to work with them was someone Yago knew: Hannes, the soldier who had rescued Eren and Mikasa back then. He was now commander of the Garrison Regiment's engineering corps in Trost District.

Hannes was pleased to see Yago. He had just run into Eren and the others in the street and chatted with them, wondering why Yago was not there. He had not expected to see him so soon. Back then, Hannes had been too afraid of the Titan to fight it. He had only carried Eren and Mikasa to safety, leaving Eren's mother behind. The guilt had weighed on him for a long time. Fortunately, Carla had later been rescued. Otherwise, Hannes truly would not have known how to face Eren and the others.

He had even visited Carla to apologize, but she clearly had not held it against him. Instead, she had thanked him for saving the children.

The inventory was completed quickly and without trouble. After saying goodbye to Hannes, Yago and Ili left the Garrison base with their records.

Meanwhile, atop the wall, Reiner's face twisted slightly. "Bertholdt! This is our chance! The Survey Corps, their strongest fighting force, has left. There's no better time to act! Hurry, Bertholdt!"

Bertholdt turned to look at Trost District. Though reluctance lingered in his eyes, he turned away and drew a dagger from his pocket. Under Reiner's and Annie's gazes, he leaped off the wall. Boom! A dazzling bolt of yellow lightning appeared beyond the wall!