Clang!
"Watch out, Eren!" The shout came from Reiner, who was playing the attacker. He lunged forward, thrusting his wooden dagger at Eren.
But Eren, who had learned some basic fighting techniques from Arthur, immediately took a defensive stance. Timing it just right, he kicked the wooden dagger out of Reiner's hand.
Then he seized Reiner's arm and executed a clean shoulder throw, slamming him onto the ground.
"Hiss..." The throw left Reiner reeling. Fortunately, he had a sturdy build. Someone else might well have broken a bone.
"That hurt like hell, Eren. Could you hold back a little?" Reiner rubbed his aching backside, sounding rather aggrieved.
"Sorry, Reiner. I don't know why, but I put more force into it without thinking." Eren scratched his head apologetically.
"All right, your turn now." Reiner tossed the wooden dagger to Eren.
"Okay." Eren nodded and held the dagger in a reverse grip. Instead of charging recklessly like Reiner, he kept watching Reiner's every move, hoping to find the right opening.
"You're really cautious, Eren." Reiner felt a little sheepish at how seriously Eren was taking this.
Eren suddenly sprang into action, kicking up the dirt and sending dust flying into Reiner's face.
Reiner instinctively raised his hands to block it, but that gave Eren the perfect opening.
Eren lowered his body and darted forward, knocking Reiner down before he could react, then held the wooden dagger against his neck.
"You lost again, Reiner." Eren chuckled.
"Eren, that was a dirty trick!" Reiner hadn't expected Eren to beat him head-on using a trick like that. Losing to him again stirred his competitive spirit.
"Hehe, Arthur taught me that all's fair in war. As long as you win, that's what matters." Eren reached out and pulled Reiner to his feet.
"That does sound pretty profound." Reiner mulled over Eren's words.
"Looks like you two are really getting into it. How about sparring with me?" Arthur suddenly appeared beside them as if out of nowhere.
"No! Absolutely not! It's not like I don't know how strong you are." At Arthur's suggestion, Eren remembered how he couldn't so much as touch a hair on him, getting toyed with before suffering a crushing defeat. He wanted no part of that.
"Tch, boring. What about you, Reiner?" Arthur turned to Reiner.
"No, thanks. I know I'm no match for you." After considering the gap between them, Reiner shook his head and declined.
"Ah, it's lonely being invincible." With neither of them willing to spar, Arthur felt thoroughly bored and prepared to leave to continue teaching Christa self-defense.
"Could I spar with you?" A girl's voice rang out. Arthur turned in surprise and recognized the female cadet, Annie Leonhart. Her solitary nature meant he had barely interacted with her.
Eren and Reiner were also surprised that Annie had approached Arthur to ask for a match. Eren was especially shocked, since she was famous around the base for being an icy beauty.
"Annie, you should forget it. Arthur doesn't like sparring with girls," Eren told her.
Arthur nodded in agreement.
"What? Do you look down on women?" Annie suddenly sounded angry.
Damn, even Tyson couldn't block a punch like that. Arthur was speechless at the accusation she had thrown at him.
"That's not it, Annie. Arthur just doesn't want to hit women," Eren said, defending Arthur when he saw that she had misunderstood.
"Hmph. I think he's just scared." Annie immediately tried to goad him, her voice full of disdain.
"Hey, Annie, how can you talk to him like..." Reiner thought she was going too far. Since he was on fairly good terms with her, he tried to intervene, only to fall silent at the look she shot him.
"Think whatever you want. I'm not going to hit a woman. I have something to do, so excuse me." Arthur turned and walked away without looking back.
"You!" Furious at what she saw as his contempt, Annie suddenly lashed out with a roundhouse kick aimed at Arthur's head.
The attack came so suddenly that neither Eren nor Reiner could react. Arthur had his back to Annie, and her kick was aimed at his head. If it connected, things could go seriously wrong.
"Arthur, watch out!" Eren shouted.
Hearing the rush of air behind him, Arthur immediately raised an arm and blocked Annie's roundhouse kick.
Thud! Flesh struck flesh.
Arthur pushed her leg aside, then turned to face her, anger creeping into his voice.
"What the hell are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!"
Annie said nothing. She simply glared at him furiously, raised both fists above her head, and lifted her left heel into a fighting stance.
"Do you not understand plain language?" Arthur fought to contain his anger. He hadn't expected this crazy woman to pick a fight out of nowhere.
The commotion had drawn everyone's attention. Seeing Annie challenge Arthur, they began murmuring among themselves.
"Arthur!" Mikasa had noticed what was happening too. She had seen Annie kick at Arthur. Fortunately, he had avoided it, or there was no telling what might have happened.
Mikasa was furious. She regarded Arthur as family, and she walked straight toward Annie with a dark expression.
"You want a fight that badly? Why don't you try me?" Mikasa stared fixedly at Annie, doing her best to conceal her murderous intent.
"I don't know whether my fighting techniques work on wild beasts." Annie met Mikasa's intensity without flinching, her fighting spirit only growing stronger.
"Enough! Didn't you want to fight me first? Fine, I accept!" Seeing the two ready to clash, Arthur addressed Annie.
"You finally accepted. Otherwise, I would've thought you were a coward." Annie continued trying to provoke him.
But that sort of taunt had no effect on Arthur.
"You!"
Mikasa, however, was incensed. She would never let anyone insult or humiliate her Arthur.
"It's all right, Mikasa." Arthur soothed her.
Seeing Arthur stop her, Mikasa swallowed her anger.
"I'm warning you, sparring with me isn't just playing around. You'll be lucky if you don't get seriously hurt." Arthur gave her one final, well-intentioned warning, hoping she would come to her senses.
"Stop talking! If we're going to spar, get on with it!" Annie said coldly.
"Heh. Very good." Arthur gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He seemed unruffled on the surface, but only Mikasa, Eren, and Armin, who knew his temper well, realized that he was truly angry now.
"I'll give you ten moves. If I fight back during those ten, I lose." Arthur clasped his hands behind his back and spoke in a provocative tone.
Everyone was stunned that Arthur would give Annie ten moves without fighting back. They began cheering and egging him on.
"You dare underestimate me!" Never in her life had Annie been treated with such contempt. She was livid.
"Let your skills do the talking. Come on!" Arthur beckoned tauntingly with a finger, then put his hands behind his back again and waited for her attack.
Faced with his contempt, Annie quickly composed herself. She intended to teach this fool a lesson for underestimating her.
Annie took her stance, then surged toward Arthur. She opened with a quick jab, which he avoided by tilting his head, then followed with a right roundhouse kick aimed at his right thigh.
Arthur planted himself firmly in a horse stance. Without even trying to dodge, he took Annie's kick head-on.
Thud! Their bodies collided.
Arthur didn't budge after the blow to his leg. He remained perfectly calm, a faint smile on his face. Annie's expression, however, shifted. She had come off worse in that exchange.
She drew back her aching right leg, her eyes full of shock. She hadn't expected Arthur's body to be as hard as rock. Kicking him had only hurt her.
"That's two," Arthur said slowly.
Annie quickly regained her composure and reset her stance. She began targeting his soft abdomen and neck, but Arthur slipped away from every attack as easily as an eel.
The impressive combination drew cheers from the onlookers. Arthur's opinion of Annie also rose a little.
He hadn't expected this crazy woman to be so accomplished at hand-to-hand combat.
"Huff... huff..." Annie was already breathing hard after that combination. She quickly steadied her breathing and looked at Arthur with a conflicted expression.
She hadn't expected the fighting techniques she had spent so long learning to amount to nothing against Arthur. She hadn't even touched the hem of his clothes.
"Your ten moves are up. Now it's my turn." Arthur smiled, narrowing his eyes, and his entire presence suddenly changed. If he had been a crane strolling at ease before, he was now a tiger poised to strike.
I can't beat him. Annie gave a bitter smile at his overwhelming presence. She now clearly understood the gulf between them.
But I'm definitely not giving up that easily. Annie refused to retreat and bravely faced him.
Annie was forced onto the defensive as Arthur's attacks rained down on her like a violent storm.
She struggled to fend off his assault, her arms already aching terribly.
"Annie!" In the crowd, Bertolt watched anxiously as she took blow after blow. He hadn't expected Arthur to be so merciless. If Reiner hadn't held him back, he would have rushed in.
The other onlookers also found the sight difficult to watch. Although Annie had pestered and provoked him first, surely Arthur didn't need to treat a girl like this.
Back where Arthur and Mikasa stood, Arthur's fists continued raining down on Annie's guarding arms.
This guy isn't even using his full strength. Annie gritted her teeth and endured. She knew Arthur wasn't treating her as a real opponent at all.
After all, he hadn't used his legs once. He was only attacking with his fists and palms.
"You've got some grit." Watching Annie struggle on, Arthur had begun to feel some admiration for this crazy woman. Although he wasn't using his full strength, an ordinary person still wouldn't have been able to withstand it.
"All right, time to end this farce." Arthur reached out and seized Annie's arm, then applied a joint lock. Before she could react, he twisted her joint and brought her straight to the ground.
"Aah!" Annie could clearly feel that her arm had been dislocated.
"Do you yield?" Arthur held her joint and slowly increased the pressure, his expression cold.
"No." Annie still couldn't admit defeat.
Seeing that she remained stubborn, Arthur applied more force, multiplying the pain she endured.
"Arthur, stop!" Armin pleaded from among the onlookers when he saw the pain on Annie's face.
"Arthur, she's in agony. Please stop." The kindhearted Mina couldn't bear to watch Annie suffer either.
"Hey, Arthur, it's just a sparring match. You don't need to go this far!" Jean urged him.
"Arthur!" Christa watched anxiously. She hadn't expected Arthur to get serious either.
"I'll ask you one last time. Do you yield?" Arthur ignored their pleas and questioned Annie, who remained pinned beneath him.
"I... I yield." Annie hesitated for a moment before answering in humiliation.
The next second, Arthur released her arm and smoothly popped it back into place.
Then he stood, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked away without looking back. Mikasa hurried after him.
"Annie, are you okay?" Mina and Christa rushed over to check on her.
"I'm fine." Annie sat up, but all her earlier spirit had vanished, leaving her utterly dejected.
"What are you staring at? Don't you have anything to do?!" Keith, who had witnessed the entire incident, appeared. He first dispersed the crowd, then shook his head at Annie, who sat on the ground looking defeated.
"Christa, Mina, take Annie to the infirmary."
"Yes, sir." The two helped Annie to her feet and supported her as they headed toward the infirmary.
They watched Annie walk away.
Bertolt, who harbored special feelings for Annie, was filled with resentment, but fortunately, Reiner was beside him to talk him down.
"Arthur really is ruthless. He doesn't go easy on girls at all." Jean curled his lip.
"Sigh... That's just how Arthur is. Annie was partly to blame too, pushing him over and over until he got angry," Armin said with a sigh.
"Arthur's strength is terrifying. If I faced him, I wouldn't last even one move." Connie smacked his lips as he recalled their match.
"Heh, you haven't seen what it's like when Arthur trains me. He's even more brutal than the bald instructor." Eren chuckled, then recalled those three miserable years. The memories were painful to revisit.
"Arthur, are you okay?" Mikasa asked. She didn't want the incident to leave him struggling with conflicted feelings.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just think I went a little too far." Arthur gave a frank smile.
"It wasn't your fault, Arthur. She provoked you first." Remembering how Annie had deliberately goaded him, Mikasa reassured him that he wasn't to blame.
"Mm-hmm." Arthur smiled gently as he listened to her words of comfort.
"Oh, and thank you, Mikasa, for standing up for me back there." Remembering what she had done, Arthur gently stroked her head and thanked her.
"Mm. You're my family. It's what I should do." Mikasa blushed, plainly enjoying his touch.
"Mm."