"Tss!" The sound of Vertical Maneuvering Equipment rang out. Yago stood atop a large tree, his expression grave, his gaze scanning the surroundings.
With two swish sounds, Mikasa and Annie arrived by his side. Mikasa looked worried and said,
"We still haven't found them."
Annie silently shook her head as well. Yago sighed lightly; there really was no other way right now. Fearing they might alert the enemy, they didn't dare fire signal flares indiscriminately.
Seeing that it was approaching noon, and having searched non-stop for five hours, most members of Squad 2 were starting to feel the strain. Even Yago felt a bit weary.
Thus, Yago could only gather the squad members to eat some dry rations and rest for a moment.
Yago broke a biscuit apart. Just as he put it in his mouth, suddenly, a green signal flare shot up into the sky from within the forest.
Yago reacted immediately, springing to his feet. Thomas checked the map and said,
"That direction, that's Orvud! That's right, if the bandits want to sell the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, Orvud is the only place nearby where they can!"
Yago: "Good! Let's go check it out immediately. Marco's squad is very likely nearby. Squad 2, move out!"
Pulling the trigger, the anchors from the waist launchers shot out rapidly. Whoosh! Yago's figure quickly flew up to the canopy.
The location of the signal flare wasn't too far. The rest of Squad 2 quickly followed, the sound of hooves hitting the ground and the gas bursts of the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment echoing through the forest.
...
At this moment, on the other side, Marco's squad had fallen into a crisis. Eren gritted his teeth, holding dual blades, with four or five muskets aimed at them from the front, and another four or five from behind.
A group of bandits had attacked Marco's squad at night. With muskets aimed at them, everyone had no choice but to let them take all their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. During this, Eren tried to resist, but unfortunately, under the threat of the muskets, no one dared to fight back. In the end, it led to Historia being taken hostage.
Originally, Armin's plan should have been very successful: ambush the bandits on their way to Orvud. The plan was successful at the start, and they reclaimed the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, but Historia was still in their hands. After catching up to the bandits, they didn't expect the bandits to have backup waiting.
Now, Eren and the others were in a crisis, caught in a dilemma.
A bandit with a short beard held a knife to Historia's neck.
"Put down your weapons! Or else, you'll all die here!"
Another bandit said ferociously, "Why talk? Just kill all these brats and be done with it!"
"Bullshit! Do you want blood on your hands?" The short-bearded bandit shouted a refusal. It was clear the short-bearded bandit held some authority; at the very least, the fierce looks in the other bandits' eyes faded slightly.
Actually, the short-bearded bandit didn't want to hurt these Trainees; they were only after money. He had participated in the operation to retake Wall Maria but ran away halfway through. Fortunately, he did run, as his unit was completely wiped out by Titans in less than half a day.
He always taught his daughter to be honest and dutiful, yet here he was doing these dirty deeds.
Historia heard his mumbling and realized this was just a father forced by life's circumstances.
Among the Trainees, Ymir stared fixedly at the bandit holding Historia hostage. An unsheathed small knife was quietly gripped in her hand. She would absolutely not let Historia be harmed, even if it meant exposing her identity.
Eren: "Damn it!"
Although furious, they could only choose to unequip their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. Jean, who had scratches on his face, warned Eren in a whisper,
"Don't be rash! Mady and Mina have already gone to get backup from the Military Police!"
Armin looked nervous as well, with cold sweat on his forehead. His mind was racing for a countermeasure, but there really was no way, unless the Military Police arrived right now.
Seeing Eren and the others remove their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, the short-bearded bandit breathed a sigh of relief.
The hand holding the knife relaxed slightly. Suddenly, in a flash, a gunshot rang out, and the short-bearded bandit's hand holding the knife burst into a spray of blood.
The situation changed abruptly. Everyone present was a bit dazed, but in the blink of an eye, a figure landed amidst the bandits.
Yago had observed the entire situation from the tree. Although confident he could deal with the bandits, he couldn't guarantee Historia's safety. Just then, Reiner recommended Bertolt, saying Bertolt was a sharpshooter who never missed. So, the musket obtained from the bandits was given to Bertolt. At a time like this, he couldn't doubt Bertolt's ability; he could only choose to trust his comrade.
Fortunately, Bertolt didn't disappoint. The lead bullet accurately hit the bandit's wrist.
Yago immediately activated his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and rushed toward the bandits at high speed.
Yago held blades in both hands. With one slash, he first knocked the musket out of a bandit's hand, then slammed his body into another bandit, knocking him down. Releasing the dual blades, Yago grabbed the muskets in the hands of two other bandits with his bare hands and yanked hard. His immense strength caused the muskets to slip directly from the bandits' grip.
The two bandits reacted, their expressions ferocious, and immediately moved to teach this brat a lesson.
But Yago sidestepped a bandit's fist while kicking the other bandit in the stomach, taking one down. The last bandit lost his reason.
"Damn! Die!"
A sharp dagger stabbed toward Yago. Yago responded calmly, dodging easily, then grabbed the hand holding the dagger with both hands and twisted hard.
The bandit cried out in pain and was pinned down by Yago.
In less than ten seconds, one person had subdued four bandits. Behind Eren and the others, the other four bandits held their hands high, sharp blades held against their necks. Squad 2 has arrived!
"Eren! Are you okay!" Mikasa saw Eren and immediately rushed over in worry. Seeing the wound on Eren's face, she looked distressed. Eren felt a bit uncomfortable being looked at by Mikasa like that.
"Mikasa, I'm fine! Stop always treating me like a child!"
Yago, his knee pressing down on the bandit, looked at Eren and the others and sighed,
"That kid Eren really doesn't know how good he has it."
Before he finished sighing, Annie leaned over. Although expressionless, the concern in her eyes was visible.
"Are you okay?"
Yago smiled. It seemed he didn't need to envy Eren too much; he had people who cared about him too.
"I'm fine."
"Mm, good." Annie nodded and didn't say anything else.
Ymir was now circling Historia incessantly.
"Are you okay, Historia! Did they do anything to you? Historia, are you hungry? Historia!!"
Reiner hauled up the short-bearded bandit who had held Historia hostage. The bandit was sweating profusely because his hand had been pierced by the bullet.
"You bastard! You actually dared to kidnap Historia!" Reiner was about to teach him a lesson when he was stopped by Historia. This kind-hearted girl understood that this bandit actually wasn't that bad; at the very least, he could have easily killed her and even her companions just moments ago.
But the short-bearded bandit chose not to act; he had also taught his daughter to be a good person.
...
Soon, people from the Garrison and the Military Police arrived one after another, arresting the other group of bandits and obtaining information about a larger gang behind them. The person from the Garrison was actually an old acquaintance of Yago's—the Garrison Squad Leader Yago had sought out when dealing with the two smugglers last time.
That Squad Leader also recognized Yago, laughing and saying Yago was truly his lucky star.
Even the Military Police captain was slightly surprised after learning that Yago had taken down four bandits in ten seconds, taking a few extra looks at this Trainee named Yago.
Armin and Thomas, the two situation recorders, huddled together, not knowing what to say, but this training exercise had truly been impressive!
...
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