Early the next morning.
Only half the Survey Corps had been mobilized for the operation to retake Trost District. Honestly, retaking the place was not particularly difficult, but it carried tremendous historical significance.
To the public, it was humanity's first step toward defeating the Titans, the sounding of the horn for a counterattack. The other half of the Survey Corps, under Hange's command, was responsible for clearing the Titans around Trost District and preventing Annie from escaping.
Even Commander Pixis stood atop the wall for this operation, watching the Titans wandering through the district. He took the bottle from inside his coat and had a small sip.
"The power of the Titans... So that means we now have five of the Power of the Nine Titans on our side, doesn't it? That counts as good news."
Standing beside him, Bai Yu seemed to suddenly remember something.
"Commander Pixis, I remember you saying you could die without regrets if a beautiful female Titan ate you, didn't you?"
Pixis raised an eyebrow slightly. When he saw Annie standing a short distance from Bai Yu, he immediately understood that the brat was trying to tease him.
"Oh, did I? I don't recall ever saying that."
Faced with the crafty old fellow, Bai Yu immediately lost interest.
"All right, shall we begin, Erwin?"
Erwin looked at the others, who were nearly ready, and the Survey Corps troops who had already begun moving under Hange's command. He fired his signal pistol into the sky, sending a red Smoke Flare soaring upward.
The operation to retake Trost District had begun!
"Annie, go!"
"Right."
Annie leaped straight off the wall. The surrounding Survey Soldiers swiftly darted around the gate, dispatching the Titans drawn toward them one by one.
Meanwhile, the members of Levi's elite squad waited quietly