The Thirty-Fifth Expedition Beyond the Walls

Bai Yu slept beside Yishi that night. With her arms around him, she slept soundly.

Bai Yu rose very early the next morning. He told Yishi to wait until he returned from the expedition beyond the walls, when he would ask Erwin to arrange for her to join the Training Corps. Once she got in, though, everything would depend on her own efforts.

After putting on his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, Bai Yu hurried out of the dormitory. Everyone else was already ready and waiting for him.

He offered a quick apology, but no one held it against him. They had only been a little worried when he failed to appear. Xiate came over to him.

"Brother, did you go see Senior Sister Shishi? How is she?"

"She wants to join the Survey Corps."

Xiate looked puzzled.

"Senior Sister Shishi wants to join the Survey Corps too? But her mental state..."

"I know, but it's her choice."

Xiate fell silent and asked no more questions. Beside them, Ming glanced over, then sneaked another sip of liquor.

As the sun gradually rose over the horizon, Erwin led the Survey Corps toward the gate. Only a handful of recruits who had joined this intake and one or two veterans remained at headquarters.

The gate opened once more, and Erwin raised his sword high.

"Thirty-fifth expedition beyond the walls, move out!!!"

The main force charged out of the city. Bai Yu's Support Squad took the lead, acting as the scouting vanguard before the formation spread out.

They once again passed through the ruins of the town ahead. There were few Titans left among the ruins, only four or five. The covering force still consisted of five squads, which peeled off to either side, each taking on one Titan.

Suddenly, Ming fixed his wine-red eyes on the path ahead and spoke calmly.

"There seem to be more."

Bai Yu immediately shouted.

"Xiate, Ming, watch for any Titans we might have missed!"

At the same time, he rose from his saddle into a half-kneeling stance, ready to strike at any moment as his eyes swept their surroundings.

They entered the town, where the houses blocked much of their view. As they passed an intersection, a Titan lying prone suddenly came into sight. It had been lurking there, watching hungrily and waiting for prey to take the bait. It was an Abnormal Titan! The moment it spotted Bai Yu, it lunged at him.

The instant they spotted it, all three scattered, blasting their gas at full power and launching themselves into the air. Ming and Xiate fired the steel cables at their waists simultaneously and hurtled toward the Titan, severing the hands it reached toward them. Before it could recover, Bai Yu closed in and killed it with a single slash.

He landed on a rooftop some distance away. A horse's body lay nearby; the attack had caught Bai Yu's mount and killed it.

The three of them stopped, and the supply squad behind them quickly brought over a spare horse. Only then did they set off again.

The five squads on either side also took a little time to approach the five Titans safely.

Once they passed through the town, Erwin swept his sword outward, and the long-range Scouting Formation spread out. Levi's elite squad cleared the way at the front, while Bai Yu moved between the forward Scout Squads. If they encountered an Abnormal Titan they could not handle, they would fire a black Smoke Flare.

If Bai Yu dealt with it, he would fire a pink Smoke Flare. If he could not, he would fire a purple one, conveying the situation to the Command Squad so they could make a decision.

Bai Yu's Support Squad carried more signal flares than any other squad. They were responsible for maintaining the formation, dealing with unexpected situations, and assessing their severity. Their Smoke Flares were also streaked with gold to distinguish them from those of the other squads, allowing Erwin to keep a clearer grasp of the situation.

Before long, a red Smoke Flare rose on the right.

Bai Yu and his two companions looked in that direction. Ming fired a blue Smoke Flare into the sky to report their position. Response time mattered: if the Support Squad was too far from the forward Scout Squad requesting assistance, the Command Squad would issue orders immediately rather than wait for the Support Squad's report.

Bai Yu and the others happened to be on the right this time, and they hurried over.

In the distance, three Titans lumbered along.

Ming looked at the distant Titans and nodded to Bai Yu, indicating that he sensed no danger.

Bai Yu joined up with the Scout Squad there and gestured for them to eliminate the three Titans.

They rose from their saddles. As they drew closer, Bai Yu and his two companions launched themselves forward first. Their cables shot out and anchored in the ground ahead. With their gas blasting at full power, they adjusted their angles and skimmed just above the ground. The maneuver left the other soldiers exchanging startled glances.

Three figures flashed past, and all three Titans fell at once. Seizing the opening, the Scout Squad soldiers fired their cables into the Titans, launched themselves into the air, and slashed toward their napes.

But one Titan suddenly raised its arm. Just as it was about to grab a female Scout, a blade flew over and severed two fingers at their joints. She slipped through the gap and finished the Titan with a single slash.

They called their horses over. Before the female Scout could thank him, Bai Yu fired a pink signal flare into the sky to indicate that the situation had been resolved, then led his two companions toward the other Scout Squads.

Watching their retreating figures, which were not particularly large, the soldiers could not help feeling reassured. For veterans like them, that feeling was a little embarrassing.

With the Command Squad, Erwin noted the interval between the red Smoke Flare indicating Titans and the pink Smoke Flare indicating that the situation had been resolved. The corners of his mouth lifted.

Forcing Bai Yu to join the Survey Corps back then had indeed been the right decision.

The morning could more or less be called peaceful. They encountered relatively few Titans. They avoided larger groups that would slow them down, while smaller groups were eliminated by the Support Squad working together with the Scout Squads.

After several hours of galloping, their horses gradually began to slow. They reached a previously established outpost at the edge of a forest and stationed the horses to the west. Then everyone used their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to reach the nearby large trees and rest, so they would not be trapped and unable to retreat on horseback if Titans surrounded them.

Bai Yu and his two companions leaned against a tree trunk, watching the Titans below try to climb up. The ten Messenger Squads assigned to relay orders continued taking turns sweeping the area, clearing out the few Titans beneath them.

Erwin unfolded his map and studied the route ahead.