Retreating again

After two more changes of route, they finally got back on course.

As darkness gradually fell, Bai Yu and the others stopped to rest at their second outpost. It was an abandoned castle that had once served as a Garrison Regiment base within Wall Maria, but had been deserted after the wall fell.

The Survey Corps had later made it one of their way stations and stored some supplies inside.

At night, Titans became far less active, sometimes not moving at all.

Some might ask, then, why not rest during the day and travel at night?

Because people needed rest too. If they rested during the day, the surrounding Titans would be drawn to them, making it impossible to rest safely. If they failed to retreat in time, they would suffer heavy casualties. Traveling at night brought problems of its own, too.

More importantly, they could not see the signal flares. Only the flares used by the Command Squad and Bai Yu's Support Squad glowed.

They would have no way of knowing whether the Scout Squads ahead had encountered Titans.

So unless they were carrying out a strategy that called for a swift, decisive operation, or retreating to Wall Rose, they would not set out at night.

There was little moonlight that night. That made sense; depending on the season, the Survey Corps generally tried to set out when the moon was faint or waning.

Everything was done to reduce casualties during expeditions beyond the walls, though sometimes they had no choice but to grit their teeth and press on.

Bai Yu fell asleep quickly. Rather than sleep inside the castle, he leaned against the stone parapet on its roof. Ming was in no hurry to sleep and sat up there quietly drinking, while Xiate fell asleep leaning against Bai Yu.

The Survey Soldiers standing guard nearby softened their movements as they watched the two youngsters, who looked only twelve or thirteen, sleeping soundly. Still, they did not relax their vigilance in the slightest.

There was little moonlight that night. Ming glanced at Xiate beside him and hesitated briefly, then simply leaned against Bai Yu's other side and fell asleep too.

Yes, it was clear that they trusted Bai Yu a great deal.

The guards changed shifts every two hours. Ten squads, paired into five groups, took turns keeping watch.

Time passed slowly. Dawn was still a long way off, but the Scouts woke one after another. Commander Erwin began having them organize their equipment and prepare to leave.

The sun would not rise for a while yet, the Survey Soldiers were well rested, and the Titans were still inactive. It was the perfect time to set out.

Bai Yu, Ming, and Xiate had already come down from the roof. Ming gently rubbed his eyes nearby, his wine-red gaze still hazy with sleep.

Bai Yu yawned, then swung onto his horse.

But the moment Erwin gave the order to move out, all three snapped fully awake, their eyes turning alert. Everyone charged toward Shiganshina District at Wall Maria, spreading into formation.

As the sky gradually brightened, the Titans began moving again. The closer they drew to the walls of Shiganshina District, the more Titans they encountered.

Although Bai Yu and the Scout Squads had already killed nearly ten Titans, their numbers kept growing. This was despite their best efforts to avoid them, and several Scout Squads had already begun suffering casualties.

Bai Yu's Support Squad alone had rescued four or five people, and red signal flares were rising everywhere.

Beside him, Ming stared straight ahead.

"It's bad... up ahead."

That was the direction of Shiganshina District.

"Tch."

Looking at Wall Maria faintly visible in the distance, Bai Yu pulled out a black signal flare and fired it straight into the sky.

Not long after Bai Yu's black smoke flare appeared, a green flare finally rose straight above the Command Squad, signaling them to stop advancing and tighten the formation.

Once the formation had quickly closed up, Erwin fired a green flare toward Wall Rose behind them. The front and rear switched positions. Retreat!

As dusk gradually settled over the horizon, they returned to the castle where they had rested the previous night. This time, however, they only replenished their supplies, leaving some surplus provisions in the castle for their next visit.

After resting for about half an hour, they set out again, intending to take advantage of the Titans' reduced activity at night to return to Wall Rose as quickly as possible.

The formation began sweeping ahead. Night marches were different from daytime marches, with Bai Yu's Support Squad and Levi Squad taking the lead. They ignored inactive Titans and quickly dispatched any that were moving, since changing direction was difficult.

Bai Yu looked ahead. This was the area they had detoured around earlier. Ordinary Titans stood blankly all around them, motionless in the weak moonlight. Some lacked even the strength to stand and lay sprawled on the ground.

There were many more in the distance, but the darkness made them hard to see.

Still, he knew that if they had plunged into this place during the day, although escape would not have been impossible, they would at least have suffered heavy casualties.

Titans surrounded them, almost forming a semicircle.

Was it a coincidence?

Bai Yu could not help feeling puzzled. He did not think the Titans were lying in ambush here, and their encirclement had plenty of gaps. He could see at least one place where they could break through.

But he gave it no more thought and charged ahead, occasionally firing a green signal flare to report his position and coordinates to everyone.

The Support Squad's flares were easy to identify. They were specially made, with flecks of golden fluorescence mixed into their otherwise solid colors.

The Command Squad also fired signal flares to confirm its coordinates and prevent other Scouts from getting separated.

They rode hard throughout the night. Without sunlight, the Titans were less active, but some could still move.

They changed direction several times and encountered two Abnormal Titans. Fortunately, they had tightened their formation, allowing the Support Squad to reach them quickly. Otherwise, they might have suffered casualties. With Levi Squad leading the way, Bai Yu and the others could briefly leave their position without trouble.

Since it was night, they simply severed the Titans' Achilles tendons to prevent them from pursuing, then quickly moved on.

As the sky gradually brightened, they finally returned to Trost District on the southern side of Wall Rose.

With the Survey Corps' return, this expedition beyond the walls came to an end. They had failed to reach Shiganshina District, lost nearly ten Survey Soldiers, and had several more wounded, though the casualties were not considered particularly heavy.

What they had learned was that the closer they came to Shiganshina District, the more Titans there were around them. Unless they were willing to disregard casualties, breaking through would be difficult.