Assault

Clearing the tall tower ahead, Yago finally found living people. The two cadets before him looked at him in surprise.

"Naik, Milius? Why are you still here? Why haven't you retreated?" Yago asked.

The cadet named Naik stood up, looking at Yago with both shock and helplessness. "Yago? You're... alive? I thought everyone in the 34th Class had..."

Yago frowned. "What? What happened to the 34th Class? I was sent on a special mission. How are Thomas and the others?"

Milius, standing beside Naik, gave Yago the brutal news. "We... just saw Thomas's and Ili's... bodies..."

"What?!" Yago's pupils contracted. How could that be? Thomas, Ili... they'd still been smiling this morning. How was this possible?

"What about the others? Eren, Maddie, Armin, Mina-where are they?!" Yago asked urgently. "And Annie? Naik, have you seen any of them?"

"N-no, we haven't seen them. But there are too many Titans around. They're probably in bad shape too."

Naik and Milius were taken aback by Yago's anxiety. As far as they remembered, he had almost never panicked. As the top cadet, Yago was so powerful that ordinary soldiers like them could only look up to him. They had never imagined that even someone as strong as him could become so distraught.

Yago turned away, both hands clamped around his sword grips. A faint crimson gleam flickered in his black eyes. An indescribable feeling knotted in his chest as he struggled not to think about what might have happened. "Then why haven't you retreated?"

"The supply station is surrounded by Titans. We're almost out of gas, so we can't get over the wall. The supply troops are all gone. Yago, what should we do?" Naik said helplessly. Just then, some surviving cadets and Garrison soldiers nearby began gathering around them.

At a time like this, everyone needed someone to rally behind. Yago's appearance as the top cadet undoubtedly gave these despairing soldiers a sliver of hope-a leader who could guide them.

Yago silently looked around at all those expectant eyes. He had plenty of gas. To put it selfishly, he could simply ignore these demoralized soldiers.

Clang! Yago drew a sharp blade with his left hand and pointed its tip toward the distant supply station. "There's no other way. Follow me to the supply station. We'll break through the Titans surrounding it and replenish our gas."

Everyone around him recoiled in shock. One Garrison soldier beside him shouted, "Are you kidding? Kid, there are at least twenty Titans outside the supply station! You think we can charge through them? Have you lost your mind?"

Yago did not argue. Instead, he clenched his free right hand into a fist and pressed it against the left side of his chest. "I am Yago Norman, top cadet and leader of the 34th Class. Under orders to carry out a special mission on the Trost front line, I killed twelve Titans, including one Abnormal Titan. I will now organize an operation to retake the supply station. Who will join me?"

Silence fell. Faced with such an impressive combat record, the soldiers around him did not know what to say.

Even the Garrison soldier who had challenged him merely changed expression without uttering another word.

Yago walked to the edge of the roof. "Without gas, we'll die here anyway. Do you want to sit here waiting to die, or take a chance with me? Decide for yourselves. In one minute, I'll launch the assault. Anyone willing to come, follow behind me."

"Damn it, this kid is way too cocky!" the Garrison soldier muttered. Still, he obediently drew his blades and took his place behind Yago.

Every soldier there chose to follow Yago. Staying meant certain death. Following someone as powerful as him might at least give them a chance.

The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and blazing sunlight shone down on them all.

"Everyone, charge!" Yago roared, taking the lead toward the supply station. With someone to rally behind, the twenty-odd soldiers once again found the courage to fight the Titans. Their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear vented high-pressure gas. Though their reserves were low, this was no time to conserve them. A single mistake could leave them in the jaws of a Titan along the way.

Yago flew swiftly. His gas reserves were ample enough for him to fight for half an hour without worrying about consumption.

Several Titans over seven meters tall wandered the street ahead. Farther away, he could also see several standing more than ten meters tall.

Yago's gaze was as sharp as a blade. Pushing his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to its limits, he flashed between the Titans like a phantom. Before the others could react, several seven-meter-class Titans had already fallen, steam rising from their napes.

"He's incredible! That kid really deserves to be the top cadet."

Yago's swift, clean kills rekindled hope in the cadets and Garrison soldiers behind him. With strength like that, retaking the supply station might not be impossible!

Yago killed almost every Titan along their route, and soon they were nearing the supply station.

Slash! His blade sliced open the nape of the last fifteen-meter-class Titan blocking their path. Scalding Titan blood sprayed into the sky, but Yago's gaze remained fierce.

Having killed eleven Titans in all, Yago stood on the tallest rooftop. An open space lay ahead, with the supply station just beyond it, almost within reach. Several Titans stood between them. Behind him, the cadets caught up one after another. "Amazing! Yago, you're so strong!" "That's our top cadet!" "This is great! Let's charge in together!"

Yago flicked both hands, ejecting the two worn blades from their grips, then drew two fresh blades from his sheaths. Watching the Titans below, he said, "I'll lure those Titans away. Naik, lead everyone across in one push."

"What? You're going alone, Yago? That's too dangerous!"

"Exactly, kid. Don't get too full of yourself. Leave this to us Garrison veterans! Otherwise, you cadet brats really will start looking down on us!" The Garrison soldier from earlier stepped forward, followed by three others in the same uniform.

Not every Garrison soldier was as cowardly as Kitz.

"No, you can't handle it. You're too weak. Since you're a veteran, please lead the cadets in the retreat. I'll draw the Titans away. Don't stay here and hold me back," Yago said bluntly.

The Garrison soldier was embarrassed, but Yago had no time to spare his feelings. He leaped off the roof and charged toward the Titans. Several soon spotted him and gave chase with their mouths wide open. Yago nimbly evaded them, drawing them away.

Embarrassing as that had been, this was a perfect opportunity. The Garrison soldier raised both blades. "Charge into the supply station!"

The twenty-odd soldiers used the last of their gas to race toward the supply station's windows at top speed.

Yago lured the Titans around to the front of the supply station, only to run straight into familiar faces.

"Mikasa? And Armin, Connie." Yago was surprised, and the three opposite him clearly had not expected to encounter him either. But they did not seem to be doing well. Armin appeared to have run out of gas and was being carried bridal-style by Connie. Still, Armin was alive. Perhaps the others in the 34th Class were all right too.

"This is bad!" Before he could ask what had happened, Yago suddenly remembered the Titans following him. He immediately turned and charged back toward them.

Mikasa and the others wanted to help, but their nearly depleted gas reserves would not allow it. Their most urgent task was to retake the supply station and replenish their gas.

"Phew..." After killing another three Titans, Yago was beginning to feel exhausted. Slaying fourteen Titans in succession was more than even he could easily endure. Without lingering any longer, he sped toward the supply station too.

He flew up to the top of the tower, only to be shocked by the sight before him.