Special mission

"Annie! You have to keep yourself safe! Whatever happens, keep yourself safe!" Ignoring the looks from everyone around him, Yago grabbed Annie's hand and spoke with utter seriousness.

But Annie's gaze was uneasy and evasive, as though she couldn't bring herself to meet Yago's eyes. Reiner and Bertholdt, standing beside her, were much the same. Bertholdt in particular-if anyone looked closely, they would see his shoulders trembling slightly.

"I know. You keep yourself safe too. Don't let those Titans kill you." Annie finally met Yago's eyes, her voice full of concern.

Before Yago could say much more, a Garrison soldier suddenly called his name. "Cadet Yago?"

Yago turned around. "That's me."

"Prepare to move out immediately. I'm Yuwen, leader of the Garrison Regiment's Yuwen Vanguard Squad. You'll be joining our squad on a special mission," the squad leader said, leaving no room for argument.

"What? A special mission? But I have my own class to look after. Our mission is to help the vanguard clear out the Titans!" Yago protested.

"You shouldn't ask so many questions. Just follow your orders. Hand your class over to your deputy, then report to us immediately!" Yuwen said, then walked away without another word.

Yago gritted his teeth. These guys really were something. But there was nothing he could do; he couldn't very well disobey orders. He immediately hurried back to his 34th Class.

He found Thomas comforting Maddie, who was on the verge of breaking down. "Thomas! Listen, I've been reassigned to another mission. From now on, you're in command of the 34th Class!"

Thomas looked puzzled. "Why not put Eren in charge? His scores were much better than mine."

Yago placed his hands on Thomas's shoulders. "No. This isn't training. This is real combat. Eren gets too reckless around Titans. You're the only one who can keep things under control. Thomas, I'm leaving the 34th Class to you. Look after everyone."

Clearly encouraged by this vote of confidence, Thomas nodded. "Don't worry, Yago. I'll look after everyone!"

With command handed over to the levelheaded Thomas, Yago could rest a little easier for now. As he was about to leave, however, Eren seemed to get into an argument with Jean nearby. They were too far away, and the surroundings were too noisy, for Yago to hear much beyond Jean saying something about going to the interior tomorrow. It seemed the sudden Titan attack had shaken him.

Yago sighed helplessly. The timing of the Titans' appearance was certainly unfortunate for the cadets, but it also raised his suspicions. He was now almost certain that the Colossal Titan was a transformed human. If that was the case, could that person be someone from the Training Corps?

Of course, it was only a suspicion. It could still be a coincidence. Somehow, after a barrage of words from Eren, Jean was actually persuaded. He turned away with a sour expression and went to find his teammates.

Seeing that no fight had broken out, Yago left them alone. He had a mission of his own.

He hurried to the Garrison Regiment's Yuwen Squad rendezvous point, where the entire squad had already assembled. Including Yuwen, the squad leader who had delivered his orders, there were eight Garrison soldiers, two of them women. As soon as Yago arrived, Yuwen gave the order. "Move out!"

With a series of hisses, eight sets of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear activated, and Yuwen Squad sprang into action.

Yago had only just arrived and hadn't even caught his breath before Yuwen Squad moved out. He was utterly speechless, but his stamina was extraordinary. He pulled the triggers, launching his grappling hooks and cables, and quickly caught up with the squad.

Yuwen was surprised to see Yago catch up so quickly. "This kid's pretty good with his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. No wonder he ranked first in the Training Corps."

Yuwen Squad darted through the chaotic city, heading toward the southeastern section of the front line under their leader's guidance.

With leather boots scraping against stone, the nine of them landed on the roof of a tall building. They could almost see the front line from here, and Yago could faintly make out Titans wandering between the houses.

Yuwen took out a map, pointed to a location, and announced their mission.

"What? They're sending an elite vanguard squad like ours to rescue one person? Why?" one of the Garrison soldiers complained.

"Shut up, Niki! Do you know who she is?" Yuwen's expression was stern. "She's Duke Vald's only daughter!"

Niki immediately fell silent. Duke Vald was a powerful noble, not someone soldiers like them could afford to offend.

Yago's expression turned cold. Hearing that their mission was to rescue a young noblewoman struck him as utterly absurd. Tens of thousands of civilians in Trost District had yet to evacuate, yet an elite vanguard squad had been dispatched for one person. Were nobles' lives worth more than commoners'?

Of course, Yago kept those thoughts to himself. He couldn't disobey orders, after all.

"Miss Lisa is trapped in that tower. It's too close to the breach, and there are a lot of Titans nearby-at least twenty, according to our intelligence. Once the vanguard receives our signal, they'll draw most of the Titans away. Our job is to make sure there are no Titans anywhere near Miss Lisa during her evacuation. Understood?" Yuwen explained carefully.

"Understood!"

Bang! A red signal flare rose into the sky, and everyone in Yuwen Squad prepared for battle. Soon, more than a dozen visible Titans near the tower ran off in another direction. Bang! Moments later, a green signal flare rose in the distance.

"Go!" Yuwen drew his blades and charged forward, with the others close behind.

With a thunderous crash, a thirteen-meter Titan fell to the ground, its body beginning to evaporate. Yago swiftly pulled his two blades from its nape and used his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to shoot up onto a rooftop.

"Incredible! That cadet's already taken down five Titans!" The members of Yuwen Squad watched Yago in astonishment, filled with admiration.

Their intelligence was definitely wrong. There were far more Titans in this area than reported. Yago alone had killed five, while the rest of Yuwen Squad had taken down another four between them.

"Aah!" A scream rang out nearby. A Titan had caught one of the Garrison soldiers.

"Everyone, stop! He's too far away. We can't save him!" Yuwen held back the other soldiers who wanted to go to his aid.

Yago looked toward the Titan. It really was far away. He had no idea how that soldier had fallen behind.

"Don't eat me! No! Help! Aaaah! Squad leader, save me! I don't want to die! Please, no!" The captured soldier screamed in terror, tears and snot streaming down his face. But the Titan paid no heed and bit him in two.

His cries cut off abruptly. Everyone's face tightened with anguish, including Yago's, but the mission still had to continue.

Soon, they reached the tower that was their objective. The moment they entered, a shrill shout greeted them. "What took you so long? Do you have any idea how frightened our young lady has been?"

A scrawny middle-aged man, neatly dressed and outwardly respectable, behaved like an ill-mannered shrew, pointing at Yuwen's nose and berating them for arriving late.

The others listened with anger written across their faces. They had risked their lives to rescue these people, yet this man showed no appreciation whatsoever. To save them, they had already lost a friend who had shared their lives day in and day out!

But Yuwen still knew where to draw the line. Though he too was seething, he tried to remain pleasant. "I'm very sorry, Steward Rosen. That was our oversight. But there are still many Titans outside, and I don't think we can afford to waste time. We should evacuate as quickly as possible. Wouldn't you agree?"

"What? There are still Titans? What good are you people? Has all the military funding our lord provides every year been spent feeding pigs? Why are those disgusting Titans still roaming around here?" Steward Rosen continued his scathing interrogation of Yuwen.

Even Yago, standing to one side, couldn't bear to listen any longer. He had the urge to draw his blade and cut this unreasonable man down.

Just then, a gentle voice sounded from behind them. "I'm truly sorry, brave soldiers. We're sorry for the trouble. Uncle Rosen, please don't make things difficult for these brave soldiers."

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness.