Annie's Distance

"As New Recruits of the Survey Corps, you must master Long-Distance Scouting Formation." Nile stood on the podium, pointing to the lines on the blackboard.

Opposite Nile were thirty-two New Recruits from the Survey Corps.

Yago, wearing a borrowed jacket that was slightly too small, listened to Nile's explanation of the Long-Distance Scouting Formation.

The Long-Distance Scouting Formation was created by Erwin Smith, the current Commander of the Survey Corps. After this formation was introduced, the Survey Corps' casualty rate decreased from 60% to 30%.

This greatly boosted the morale of the Survey Corps Soldiers conducting survey operations outside the walls.

The Long-Distance Scouting Formation was not originally created to fight against Titan, but rather to avoid fighting Titan. The entire army advanced in a semi-circular square formation.

Each class maintained contact using Signal Flare, their formation spread out like layers of crepe bread.

The combat squads were distributed on the flanks and perimeter, while the supply squad, Logistics Squad, Command Headquarters, and spare horses were located in the very center of the formation.

If the outermost combat units spot Titan, they should immediately send a warning with Signal Flare. If a regular Titan is spotted, a red Signal Flare should be fired. If other squads see a red Signal Flare appearing in one direction, they should also fire red Signal Flare, relaying the warning through the ranks until it reaches the Command Headquarters at the very center of the formation.

Immediately, the Commander will order the troops to prioritize avoiding these Titan and continue advancing, minimizing direct contact with Titan.

Of course, there may be uncontrollable situations that require combat. If the combat losses are too great and the basic formation cannot be maintained, the surviving combat personnel must fire yellow Signal Flare as a warning.

Of course, this applies to encountering ordinary Titan. If they encounter Abnormal Titan, ordinary combat squads may not be able to handle them. In this case, black Signal Flare must be fired, and the Commander will decide whether to send out Elite Squad from the Survey Corps to eliminate the Abnormal Titan Titan.

If everything is going well, Green Signal Flare is fired to indicate that the advance should continue. When the mission is completed or the Survey Corps suffers heavy losses, a blue Signal Flare is fired to indicate that all personnel should retreat.

Commander Erwin made good use of the Survey Corps' flexible mobility, using this Long-Distance Scouting Formation to avoid about 80% of the Titan.

Yago greatly admired Commander Erwin; this Long-Distance Scouting Formation was quite perfect. Before Commander Erwin, all the previous Commander of the Survey Corps were generally very aggressive, and they would suffer heavy losses when they encountered a large number of Titan.

Yago roughly understood the principle of the entire Long-Distance Scouting Formation, Nile also pointed out the combat position of the New Recruits platoon during the survey outside the wall a month later.

"Your New Recruits platoon is positioned on the right flank, roughly divided into six squads, located on the flanks of the supply squad and the spare horses," Nile pointed to a position on the blackboard.

Yago seemed lost in thought. At that moment, Yago noticed that Annie beside him was trembling slightly.

"Annie, what's wrong?" Yago asked with concern.

Annie shook her head, but there was a hint of panic in her eyes; she remembered yesterday's conversation.

"We must capture Eren in a month, you understand? Annie, only you can do it. Bertholdt and I can't escape from the Survey Corps Center at our current speed. Annie, after we get Eren, we'll go back home..."

"No, but I..."

"Think of your father..."

Yago looked at Annie, who was clearly preoccupied, and wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how to say it.

Because he was sitting in the last row with Annie, Yago made up his mind and reached out to hold Annie's small hand.

Annie was stunned by this sudden action and stared wide-eyed at Yago.

Yago smiled and said, "Annie, feel free to tell me anything. I'm here for you." His gaze towards Annie was very gentle.

Annie felt a tremor in his heart as he felt the warmth in his hand. At that moment, Annie really wanted to tell Yago everything, but then he thought of his father back home.

"Annie, you must come back alive! Even if the whole world becomes your enemy, even if the whole world hates you... Dad will always be on your side."

Annie silently said in her heart, "I'm sorry, Yago, I don't deserve this. I only have eight years left. My father is still waiting for me. I'm sorry."

Annie's eyes suddenly hardened. If that was the case, she should keep her distance from Yago; she didn't want to drag Yago down with her.

Annie gently pushed Yago's hand away and whispered, "I'm really okay."

Yago sensed a subtle distance in Annie's tone and felt a chill run down his spine. What was wrong? Had he done something to make Annie dislike him?

Yago was suddenly gripped by self-doubt.

After class Annie silently packed her things and left alone. Before, Annie would always wait for Yago to walk with her, and Yago would chat away on the way, while Annie listened quietly. But now...

Yago stood up dejectedly, watching Annie's retreating figure, feeling utterly lost, wondering what had happened to Annie.

Walking along the road, Yago reflected on what he had done recently, when he suddenly noticed a group of New Recruits gathered ahead. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Eren.

I must say, Eren actually looks quite charismatic in his Survey Corps uniform.

Mikasa kept circling around Eren, asking, "Eren, did they bully you?" "Eren, are you hungry?" "Eren, did you sleep well last night?" "Eren, are you okay without me around?" "Eren... Eren... Eren..."

In Mikasa's eyes, Eren was now completely the image of her.

Having finally escaped Mikasa's concern, Eren looked around at his companions and asked, "Everyone's here? Hey, didn't Yago join the Survey Corps?"

Yago pushed through the crowd. "What are you saying? Aren't I right here?"

"So only Mark, Annie, and Jean didn't join?" Eren scratched his head.

Then someone else jumped out, "You damn Eren, what are you saying? Mark is injured and can't join the army, and Annie has also joined the Survey Corps."

Eren exclaimed in surprise, "What? No one joined the Military Police Brigade?"

Mina replied, "The Military Police Brigade only allocated spots to the top 20 this time, so a few people still went."

When Eren saw Mina, he was reminded of Thomas and the others who had once talked about joining the Survey Corps.

His face was slightly somber, and everyone surrounded Eren, chattering amongst themselves. After all, Eren in front of them could transform into Titan.

Yago then noticed that Annie was standing alone again, looking somewhat lonely. Yago turned around to go over, but Annie immediately noticed Yago and walked to the other side.

Crack! Yago felt as if something inside him had shattered.

"Hey! New Recruits, assemble! Your uniforms have arrived!" Nile waved and shouted.

Everyone said goodbye to Eren. Mikasa looked at Eren with reluctance, but as soon as Eren turned around, a murderous aura suddenly erupted from Mikasa.

Armin was startled. "Mikasa, what's wrong?"

Mikasa said with a grim face, "Eren has lost weight. That wretched guy must have bullied Eren. I'll make him pay sooner or later!"

Armin: "You mean, Captain Levi?"

The New Recruits donned Survey Corps uniforms and green capes; a gentle breeze stirred, causing the blue and white feathers of their Wings of Freedom to flutter.