Late at night, a strange rustling sound rang out; Yago immediately opened his eyes, the Power of the Titans having endowed Yago with unprecedentedly formidable strength.
Yago quietly unzipped his sleeping bag; with the help of the moonlight, he saw the situation before him clearly: two sneaky figures were conversing in hushed tones.
"Don't be too greedy! There's just the two of us, we can't deal with this many recruits! Let's each just take one set of Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and be done with it! Consider it our extra income."
"We can count ourselves lucky to have run into this group of sleeping recruits, but they must be having an even smoother time than us—they have eight or nine muskets! And that group of recruits is only about a dozen people."
Yago's expression grew serious; it was obviously audible that this was a gang of thieves smuggling and selling weapons, just like the two Yago had encountered before. Listening to the content of their speech, it seemed they had accomplices! The accomplices' target appeared to be another batch of trainees, and the trainees nearby should be Marco and Eren's group.
Unexpectedly, Mikasa's feeling was actually right. Could this be the bond with Eren?
"Alright! I'll take this set!" One thief said as he reached his hand toward the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment of the sleeping Thomas nearby.
"No, I can't let them just take the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment away like this!" Yago made up his mind. Under the cover of night, he scrambled out of his sleeping bag. Although he was very careful, he still startled a thief into reacting.
"Who is it! Oh no!" The thief subconsciously reached for the musket behind his waist, but Yago's speed was faster. He flew into a kick aimed at the thief's wrist. "Bang!" The loud gunshot startled all the trainees awake.
The thief's wrist was forcibly kicked broken by Yago, the entire wrist bent at a bizarre angle; the pain made the thief howl, losing his combat ability.
The other thief reacted as well. Beside him, Thomas had just opened his eyes, looking bewildered. The thief snatched a blade from Marco's Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and slashed at Yago, but Yago reacted quickly, dodging the blade. Taking advantage of the momentum and using a technique Annie had taught him, he grabbed the thief's arm, hooked his foot, and ruthlessly gave the thief a back throw.
The thief was slammed into a daze, and Yago seized the opportunity to lock the thief's hands.
"Let him go! You damn brats! Or else I'll blow this guy's head off!" A shout of rage rang out behind Yago. Yago frowned and turned to look; the thief whose wrist had been kicked broken was now pale-faced, his uninjured left hand holding a new musket, the muzzle aimed at Bertholdt who had just gotten up.
Bertholdt looked panic-stricken, subconsciously casting his gaze toward Reiner. Reiner was also bewildered, and at the same time extremely anxious; if this went on, their identities would easily be exposed!
"Reiner!" Bertholdt shouted Reiner's name in panic. What should he do? If he did nothing, he might really die! But if he used that power, their identities would be completely exposed too, and then everything would be over!
Yago also looked gloomy. Damn it, a miscalculation; he hadn't expected this guy to actually have another gun.
The thief beneath Yago's feet was also clamoring, "Let me go, quick! Or your companion is finished!"
Yago gritted his teeth, punched the ground, and then said through gritted teeth:
"Fine! I'll let him go!" Saying this, he released his grip, and the thief immediately ran to his companion's side after breaking free.
They held Bertholdt hostage while retreating continuously. The trainees were all awake too; a few fast ones had already put on their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, their eyes hostile, but they were also a bit wary of the musket in the thief's hand.
Yago kept following the two thieves. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw Annie, who had climbed up a tree at some point. The two exchanged glances, as if they both understood something.
The two thieves were also sweating profusely; being stared at by so many trainee brats was not a pleasant feeling. They could only shout fiercely, trying to mask their weakness, telling them to back off. In his panic, Bertholdt saw Yago's eyes, and subconsciously, he seemed to hear a certain voice,
"Don't worry!"
When the thieves walked under a large tree, Yago suddenly roared: "Bertholdt! Get down!"
Bertholdt didn't hesitate in the slightest and immediately squatted down. Just as the two thieves were confused, Yago threw a stone with all his might—a stone he had secretly grabbed while punching the ground earlier.
The stone smashed viciously into the forehead of the gun-wielding thief, causing the thief to let out a startled cry and fall. Seeing things go wrong, the other thief immediately snatched the gun from his companion's hand.
But the sound of high-pressure gas jetting came rapidly from the tree. A cold light flashed past; Annie coolly drew her blade and slashed. The thief's hand and the gun fell together, but she was still a tiny step too slow.
The gunshot had already rung out, and the lead ball flew toward Yago. It was too fast, there was simply no time to react; even Yago couldn't dodge it. A small spray of blood bloomed.
Yago's pupils constricted slightly, still in shock, as the lead ball flew past, grazing Yago's neck and scraping the skin.
Although Yago vaguely understood that this lead ball posed no threat to him, the secret of his Power of the Titans might not be kept.
"Yago!" Annie rarely lost her composure, but now her face held panic. She kicked the two thieves down and hurriedly went up to check on Yago's condition. Seeing that Yago was fine, she calmed down, while her face turned slightly red, seemingly shy about her loss of control just now.
Bertholdt came to Yago's side, his face full of guilt.
"I'm sorry, Yago. It's all because of me that you were put in danger. I'm really sorry."
Yago waved his hand and said, "It's nothing! We are all friends, how could I leave a comrade to die?"
Seeing everyone gathering around, Yago quickly said upon assessing the situation:
"I'm fine. By the way, everyone pay attention, these two thieves have accomplices! Their target is Marco's squad. We must immediately support Marco and the others!"
Upon hearing this, Mikasa immediately lost her cool.
"Eren!" She drew her blades and was about to leave. Fortunately, Yago stopped her in time, but Mikasa was not calm at all, her face written all over with anxiety.
Thomas hesitated and said, "Shouldn't we report this to the instructor? After all, this should count as a top-priority situation, right?"
Yago shook his head. "No, it might be too late. For every minute we delay now, Marco's squad might be in that much more danger. The instructor said to treat this training as actual combat. In battle, we must never abandon our comrades!"
Reiner agreed loudly, "Yago, well said! We shouldn't abandon our comrades! Count me in for the support operation!"
Don't misunderstand, Reiner was definitely not doing this because of Historia, ha.
Annie silently stood behind Yago, stating her position. Facts proved that the trainees were still very united; everyone decided to support Marco's squad.
Leaving three trainees to watch the prisoners and seek support from the Garrison.
Yago: "Alright, everyone group into threes, keep the distance close. If you encounter any situation, fire a signal flare immediately. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Good! Squad 2, move out!" Yago urged his horse forward, rushing into the forest with Mikasa and Annie. The remaining trainees also formed groups and scattered into the forest.
...
The chapter was posted for review. Thank you. Please write a review, for each review +1 chapter, and it will really motivate me to continue working on it