Bait

"War Chief, what should we do next?" A strange Titan on all fours spoke in human language from the towering Wall Rose.

In front of the Cart Titan, a figure was buttoning up his shirt one button at a time.

"Ah, that's a very good question. So, what should we do next, Pieck -chan? What do you think?" Zeke Jaeger, now dressed in his shirt, countered.

The Cart Titan remained silent; how could she, with her usually meticulous mind, not detect the faint anger in War Chief's Zeke?

"What a failure. First, we lost the power of our jaws, and now it seems we've even lost the power of the Female Titan," Zeke muttered.

The Cart Titan naturally assumed the War Chief was angry, but what were Zeke's true thoughts?

At this moment, Zeke thought to himself, "Not bad, this really surprised me. This way, it will be more conducive to the implementation of the plan." But his expression remained unchanged.

"Let's wait for news from Reiner and the others. As for that Eren, he seems quite interesting," Zeke said meaningfully, glancing up at the setting sun.

"Yes, War Chief."

"New Recruits Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arnold, Commander Erwin orders you to immediately proceed to the Nanbu of Wall Rose and await orders!" A Scout sitting on horseback issued the order crisply and decisively.

Eren, of course, had no choice but to agree. Despite having bandages wrapped around his head, Eren stood up firmly and loudly agreed.

Mikasa is undeniably devoted to Eren; she would never abandon Eren.

Only Armin's expression changed slightly. The quick-witted Armin instantly realized something and pressed the Scout, "Excuse me! Will the other New Recruits also go to Wall Rose?"

The Scout giving the order gave Armin a strange look, but didn't hide anything. "Yes, the other New Recruits and some combat units have been assigned to meet up at Wall Rose. Titan have appeared Wall Rose, so be extremely careful!"

After saying this, the messenger immediately Scout his horse and left.

After the Scout left, Armin's face turned deathly pale. He suddenly grabbed Eren's shoulder and said anxiously, "Eren! This... this is using you as bait!"

Eren looked completely bewildered. "Armin, what are you talking about?"

Mikasa also cast a questioning look at Armin.

"Annie is the Female Titan; she's here to capture Eren! But if Annie were alone, she wouldn't have acted rashly. Besides, the information the Right-Flank Squad received about Eren's location was wrong! How did Annie catch up with Eren?" Armin calmly analyzed.

"There must be other Female Titan Comrade within our Survey Corps who also want Eren, and they must be among us New Recruits."

After hearing Armin's explanation, Eren retorted incredulously, "Armin, what nonsense are you talking about? How could everyone be Titan?"

"But Annie just wants to capture your Female Titan! Eren, have you ever considered that Annie might be Titan?" Armin immediately retorted.

"I..."

Eren was stunned for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"We've never been able to explain why those Titan breached the walls, because they are Intelligent Titan capable of transforming into humans! Why didn't the Colossal Titan appear for years, but then suddenly appeared on the day we graduated! This means..." Armin raised his head, looked directly into Eren's eyes, and slowly said, word by word, "These Titan transformed into humans and infiltrated the walls, even joining the Survey Corps and becoming our comrades for three years!"

"No, I... I don't believe it." Eren's face was pale, as if he was unwilling to accept this almost cruel truth.

"Eren, don't worry, I'll always be by your side!" Mikasa gently comforted Eren, and it was only when she was with Eren that Mikasa showed this tenderness.

After a while...

Eren and his two companions were fully equipped and ready to depart at any moment. Armin, standing beside him, still said worriedly, "Eren, are you really going? You'll be in danger."

Eren gripped the reins firmly, the blue and white Wings of Freedom emblem on his chest flickering in the Torch. "I'm going! It's the Commander's order, isn't it? And besides!"

Eren looked at the web of his hand and said gravely, "If there really are traitors, I will personally find them! And then, expel them!"

Seeing Eren's determined look, Armin hesitated for a moment, but still leaned close to Eren and whispered a few words in his ear.

"What?!" Although he was somewhat prepared, Eren's pupils still dilated sharply when he actually heard Armin utter those two names.

"Let's go!" a Scout Squad Leader ordered, Eren and his two companions followed the combat squad toward Wall Rose.

"Reiner?" Ymir's eyes suddenly turned dangerous. What had she just heard? Canned food?

A few hours ago, the Survey Corps' South Squad and North Squad met at Wall Rose. To everyone's surprise, neither squad could find any damage to the wall. The entire Nanbu area of Wall Rose had already been scouted, and no trace of damage by Titan was found.

Although puzzled, the exhausted Survey Corps had no choice but to rest first. Fortunately, it was nighttime, which greatly reduced the Titan's activity level, and the group prepared to find a place to rest.

As for the specifics of Wall Rose, we can only wait for the Garrison Regiment's investigation report after tomorrow's survey of the entire Wall Rose.

Although Utgard Castle had been abandoned for a long time, it was still enough for the Survey Corps to rest for a night. So, the hungry and tired South Squad and North Squad entered the ancient castle. Perhaps because it had been abandoned for so long, Utgard Castle looked extremely dilapidated. After a simple cleaning, everyone ate some dry rations and rested.

Ymir and Reiner were on the other side dealing with the debris they had cleared out.

Ymir picked up a tin can, staring thoughtfully at the writing on it that she had never seen on the island. Reiner, standing beside her, also picked one up, seemingly oblivious, and blurted out the words, "Pickled Herring?"

Reiner only realized what was happening after he said it, Ymir also suddenly stiffened.

Reiner's pupils contracted, and he looked at Ymir warily, but Ymir remained calm as she tidied up the clutter.

"Didn't you hear me?" Reiner breathed a slight sigh of relief, but out of his sight, Ymir's forehead was covered in a few beads of cold sweat.

"Damn it! Christa, you shouldn't have come to this lousy place!"

(I 'Muzi been brainstorming a side story about the protagonist's identity lately, but it might be a bit early to write it now, so I'm hesitant. By the way, regarding the suggestion about Captain, do you guys think he should be Captain a partner? |ू•ૅω•́)ᵎᵎᵎ)