The Training Corps camp was located near the Trost District, close to a stretch of forest.
There were many training facilities in the camp, and the grounds were extremely spacious.
Today, more than two hundred recruits who had just joined the Training Corps were undergoing inspection.
Wearing the Training Corps uniforms, although they had not yet been equipped with the vertical maneuvering gear, there was still an inexplicable sense of pride. From the moment they put on the uniform, they were no longer livestock to be slaughtered by Titans, but soldiers who possessed the power to fight back against Titans.
More than two hundred people stood in formation, hands behind their backs, heads held high and chests out.
In front of them stood a bald instructor in an instructor's uniform who looked clearly not to be messed with. He shouted loudly,
"Now, we begin the initiation ceremony of the 104th Training Corps! I will be your chief instructor! Keith Shadis!"
Yago had originally been staring straight ahead, but suddenly a faint smell of potatoes entered his nose. Yago turned his head to look.
"Nani?!"
A female trainee with her hair tied in a ponytail had somehow pulled a potato out of her clothes. A potato…
"She… are people these days really this bold?" Yago felt like he had never seen the world.
Instructor Keith continued his speech nonstop.
"I do not welcome you here! Before this, you were nothing more than livestock living inside the walls, fit only to be fed to Titans. Over the next three years, we will train you into warriors capable of truly fighting Titans! Three years from now, when you face Titans again, will you continue to be feed, or will you become the glorious bulwark that protects the king, or perhaps a glorious warrior who fights for humanity's future? That decision will be yours alone!"
These words made many of the trainees' blood boil. Eren immediately made up his mind to become a warrior and drive out every last Titan!
As for Yago, he had completely let himself go by now, utterly unfocused. He stared at that potato girl as she peeled the entire potato with extremely skillful and flawless movements, astonishing Yago. With skills like that, sneaking food in class would never get you caught again.
Suddenly, Yago felt a chill down his back — that feeling of being watched again. Yago swept his gaze over and quickly noticed a girl who wasn't very tall.
Light yellow hair tied into a bun, eyelids half-lowered, pale blue pupils, a high nose bridge, and delicate features — but her entire body emitted a cold aura that warned strangers to keep away.
At this moment, the girl was staring at Yago. Her gaze seemed casual, yet it made cold sweat break out all over Yago's body, as if he were being stared at by something terrifying.
"Strange. Why is she staring at me? Could it be because I'm too handsome?" Yago thought shamelessly. Of course, he didn't drop his guard — he had never felt such a sense of danger before. This girl was definitely not simple.
By this time, Instructor Keith had finished his speech and personally stepped onto the field, occasionally grabbing a recruit and loudly berating them, asking their name, where they were from, and why they came here. His manner was aggressive, and some timid recruits were directly scared stiff, becoming completely incoherent.
This was a unique intimidation ritual of the Training Corps, meant to make these recruits deny their former weak selves and thus become qualified soldiers.
Unfortunately, the slender Armin became the first sacrifice.
"You! What's your name?!"
Armin was so nervous that his voice trembled, but he still forced himself to perform the newly learned salute: right hand clenched into a fist, palm facing upward, placed in front of the left chest; left hand behind the back — meaning to dedicate one's heart to the king.
"Yes! I am Armin Arlert from the Shiganshina District!"
"Oh? Who gave you such a ridiculous name? Your parents?"
"My grandfather gave it to me!"
"Then, Arlert, tell me — what is your purpose in joining the Training Corps?" Keith's gloomy eyes fixed tightly on Armin.
Armin swallowed nervously, closed his eyes, and shouted loudly, "To contribute my strength to humanity's victory!"
Perhaps satisfied with the answer, Keith stopped tormenting Armin, had him turn back, then turned his head and roared at another freckle-faced girl.
However, Keith did not shout at everyone. For those trainees who already appeared mature and steady, there was little additional scolding. For example, some recruits came from the Shiganshina District of that year. People who had experienced hell on earth always behaved differently — at least far calmer than ordinary recruits, because they had truly seen Titans.
"Who are you?!"
"Yes! I am Thomas Wagner from the Trost District!"
"Too quiet! Are you a girl?!"
"Yes! I am—"
This kind of intimidation caused many recruits to lose their composure. A girl named Hannah was so frightened by Instructor Keith that she shouted back loudly,
"Yes! This subordinate is worse than livestock!"
"I am Jean Kirstein from the Trost District. My goal is to join the Military Police and live in the inner districts!"
This boy named Jean spoke the thoughts of many people. Many trainees trained desperately precisely to enter the comfortable Military Police and live a good life.
"Oh? You want to join the Military Police?" Keith looked at Jean with a sinister expression, then hooked his leg and sent Jean crashing painfully to the ground.
"You can't even endure this, and you still want to join the Military Police?"
Yago was already completely immersed in the potato girl's eating show. Seriously — how does watching someone eat make you hungry?
...
At the same time, that indifferent girl with light yellow hair was still staring at him. But Yago didn't care anymore — look all you want, it's not like a piece of flesh will fall off.
...
After a while, Keith suddenly lifted up a recruit. How should one put it — this recruit was quite eye-catching. First, his hair was extremely short, so short you could see his scalp. Second, when he saluted, he put his hands the wrong way around. He was Connie Springer from the southern district of Wall Rose.
Keith's gaze instantly became terrifying as he held Connie's head up with both hands. Tears of pain welled up in Connie's eyes.
"Springer, your salute is reversed. We taught you this from the beginning. This military salute symbolizes offering one's heart to humanity. Is your heart on the right side?"
"Pfft." Connie's expression was so grotesque that Yago couldn't hold it in and let out a laugh, then immediately realized something was wrong and quickly shut his mouth.
The laughter went straight into Instructor Keith's ears. Keith dropped Connie and walked directly to Yago, looking down at him from above.
"What are you laughing at? And who are you?"
Yago immediately straightened his chest, placed his right hand on his left chest, and answered loudly,
"Yes! I am Yago Norman from the Shiganshina District! I joined the Training Corps to gain the power to protect everything I want to protect!"
Keith said, "Very good answer! But remember this — respect your instructors!" With that, he threw a punch toward Yago's abdomen.
Yago reacted quickly. His right hand dropped instantly and caught Instructor Keith's fist.
Instructor Keith frowned and tried to pull his fist back, only to find that this trainee's strength was astonishing — his fist was firmly gripped, and Keith couldn't break free for a moment.
But an instructor was still an instructor. Keith simply followed the motion, twisted his body, grabbed Yago's other arm, and tried to restrain him. Yago responded in kind — he had learned quite a bit of close combat during this time with Mikasa. Yago shifted his body and moved in close to Keith.
In this way, Keith was unable to take Yago down for the moment. Just as Yago let out a sigh of relief, he noticed Instructor Keith's head lifting high.
Yago froze.
Bang!
Instructor Keith's head slammed down like a hammer onto Yago's head. That hardness was absolutely not that of a human head!
"Ah! It hurts!" Yago cried out in pain, clutching his head as he fell to the ground. It was as if white steam were rising from his forehead. It really hurt — so much that Yago couldn't stop tears from flowing.
Instructor Keith patted his slightly wrinkled clothes and said,
"Not bad at all. But kid, remember one thing — respect your instructors!"