AUTHOR'S POV:
Faye was standing on a rock, whistling to signal her horse to come. Reiner was treating Armin's wound.
"How's your 3D maneuver gear looking, Armin?" Reiner asked.
"It's fine." Armin replied. "The clasp released like it was supposed to, so it seems it's not broken."
"I see," Reiner said, unrolling a bandage. "I'm glad to hear it. But what do we do?" He looked over at Faye, who was still whistling loudly. "We only have one horse. If Faye's horse comes back, the three of us can move, but..."
'We can't stay here any longer.' Faye glanced at Reiner's horse. 'May be mine is far away from here... I have to stay behind I guess...'
Armin was staring at the ground, silent, remembering laying on the ground with wide eyes when the Female Titan was looking at him, creepily.
"Armin... Hey, Armin!" Reiner's voice snapped him out of his stupor. "You still dizzy?"
"Yeah, my head's still a bit fuzzy."
"I see." Reiner said, standing up. "But we must decide. It's a hard choice, but someone will have to stay behind."
Faye stopped whistling and looked at them. Before she could say anything, Armin spoke up.
"Wait!" Armin said, standing up. "First, let's fire a smoke round. If the formation continued straight ahead, the 4th row's 3rd team should be nearby."
He then shot a purple flare.
"That's the signal for an emergency." Faye said. "But I doubt anyone will understand our intentions just from that."
"Armin, we can wait another three minutes. By then, we must decide-" Reiner was interrupted.
"I'll stay." Armin replied firmly, taking Reiner and Faye by surprise. "But there's something I want you to tell them for me. Preferably to Commander Erwin alone."
"But-" Faye was interrupted.
"No, Armin. You should tell him yourself." Reiner said, looking at the distance.
Faye and Armin followed his gaze.
"Looks like someone's coming." Faye said with a hopeful expression. "And with a extra horse too."
"That's Christa!" Armin said.
Soon, Christa met approached them.
"Are everyone okay?" Christa asked with concern.
"Oh, It's my horse." Faye said, walking towards it.
"He ran toward me, terrified. Did you engage the Titans?" Christa asked then turned to Armin. "Armin, what happened to you? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so." Armin replied.
"I can't believe that smoke round brought you here." Reiner said.
"I was nearby and I already had Faye's horse."
"Even horses like you. You're an extremely nice person. You saved our lives." Reiner complemented.
"But I'm so glad that the worst didn't happen to you." Christa said, wiping her eyes. "I really am glad you're alive and well." she smiled at them.
'God...' Armin thought.
'She must be a goddess in disguise...' Faye thought.
'I want to marry her.' Reiner decided.
"Well, we should rejoin the formation as soon as possible." Christa said.
"Yeah." Faye said. "There should be orders to retreat."
The four quickly rode away. After a few moments, green flares flew toward the sky in front of the forest to their left.
"Green round?" Faye said.
"Looks like they're continuing the operation, only changing course." Armin said.
"What? That wasn't a retreat command?" Christa asked.
"So, the commander has changed the original plan too, I guess." Faye asked. "What have gotten into him?"
"We can all see when an operation is impossible to continue. Did command not see our smoke round somehow?" Reiner said.
"There's still only one thing for us to do. Follow the order!" Armin said and fired a green flare.
.
"Smoke round. Green." Levi said, looking in the distance. "Oluo, you fire it."
"Roger." Oluo replied.
'For now, everything seems to be going fine.' Eren watched as Oluo shot a green flare. 'But is it really? We may already have casualties on the front lines.'
"Reporting in!" A Scout said, coming towards them. "Attack from the rear! Right flank recon has been destroyed!" He continued. "Our recon system is partially inoperative. Pass this on, to the left."
Eren's eyes widened at his report.
"Did you hear that, Petra?" Levi said, turning to her. "Go."
"Yes, sir!" Petra replied and fell off to the left.
'The right flank? I think that's where Armin is.' Eren thought. 'But Armin and the others should still be closer to the center. The Titans can't have made it in that far.' He reassured himself.
Then someone shot a black flare.
'A black round?' He thought. 'Abnormals!'
"Eren, you fire it." Levi ordered.
"Yes sir." Eren replied.
"What a mess. They managed to reach this deep into our formation" Levi muttered.
Eren fired off the black round. 'The Titans are so nearby. Beneath those smoke rounds, someone's fighting.'
.
The Female Titan was running while the Scouts were chasing after her.
The hook shot in front of the female titan and a soldier flew by, causing her to cover her nape.
"Shit!" Darius, who was on horseback, cursed. "Look over here." He pointed his flare gun at her. "You damn monster!" He fired off a shot and she tilted her head to the side and dodged it. "Now!"
Three Scouts were flying toward her from different directions.
"Three separate attacks at once. You're pretty smart, but you can't possibly protect all three targets! Spine, Achilles tendon, it doesn't matter! Hit one, and we will slow it down. Go!" A soilder shouted.
"Damn you for causing so many deaths!" Another soilder said and went to her legs.
"We'll make you die a slow, painful death!"
A different Scout came at her from above. The Female Titan grabbed one of the wires and jumped.
"It jumped?" A soilder said with wide eyes.
The female titan looked down at the soldier in midair. She came down on him and squashed him beneath her foot. One soldier landed on the ground and skid back and she kicked him against the building.
"Wha-"
The last of the trio stared fearfully at her, as she held him by a wire.
"L-let me go!"
Darius looked ill, seeing her approach, spinning the soilder.
The Scout yanked the reins, turning around to race away. She followed him, releasing her grip on the wire and sending the soldier's body flying.
Darius raced across a small wooden bridge and continued on.
'I need to report this immediately. Who would've foreseen a Titan like that? I need to tell everyone!' He looked over his shoulder and cried out in fear.
The female titan stomp her leg down, launching both the soldier and the horse into air. Two Scouts noticed her.
"An abnormal?"
"It got in all the way here? We'll take it out!"
"We can't let it get further in!"
The two raced toward the female giant who was just standing there.
.
"The right flank's been wiped out? But we aren't withdrawing? Why?!" A soilder from row 3/1 asked to his comrade.
"No idea. The commander's orders. Just relay the message to the left!"
.
The Female Titan glanced up, over half a dozen bloody patches on the grass around her. She then took off.
.
Two Scouts on the left flank spoke.
"What's going on? We keep heading east."
"Our goal is supposed to be south, to the old city."
.
"Right now, our formation's on a collision course." A soilder from 1/5 Vanguard, on the upper left side of the formation said.
"Yeah. You can see it now. The Forest of Giant Trees."
.
"Seems like Titans passed through here. There's nothing growing on the road," Erwin said, noticing his surroundings. "We can bring the carts through, too."
They passed by a few broken, single-story buildings, sitting before massive trees.
"Send word to the rear that only the central cart guard should enter the forest." Erwin commanded.
"Yes, sir!" Two Scouts replied and split off, leaving the three to go deeper into the forest.
Sasha watched them disappear and turned to her squad leader.
"Excuse me, sir. The center row appears to be entering the forest. Wouldn't the rest of us collide with the forest?"
"We're going around." The squad leader replied.
"Yes, sir!"
.
"We're totally off from both our original destination and our return point." Faye said, riding beside Armin. "What are we doing exactly?"
"I don't know, but the order came from Commander Erwin, after all. he must have a plan." Armin replied.
"Hm... But, no matter what his plan is, we can't stay here." Faye said. "I think we're passing through on our way to somewhere else."
Soon they dismounted their horses and tied them to the trees.
"Everyone, halt!" Their squad leader said. "Listen up, recruits, and listen well. We will now enter ambush formations. Draw your blades and wait above in the trees. If any Titans try to enter this forest, stop them at all costs!"
"U-Um, sir, what do you-"
"Shut up and follow orders!" Their squad leader said and flew up to stand on a sturdy branch on the tree behind him.
"Now, what is going on?" Faye said with confusion.
Armin just remained silent but he was also unsure.
.
The scouts were now waiting above the threes with blades in their hands. All of them had uncertainty on their faces.
"H-Hey," Connie said, turning to Mikasa, "It looks like only the center line went into the woods. What happened to the formation?"
"The formation's gone." Mikasa replied. "The forest blocks our advance, so the left and right flanks will have to skirt the forest. We've lost our recon ability."
"Why didn't we change course to avoid this forest? Did Commander Erwin read the map wrong?" Connie asked.
"I don't know." Mikasa replied. "Perhaps we tried too hard to avoid the threat on the right flank and ended up here."
.
'So, we've abandoned the original mission of establishing an outer Wall base.' Faye frowned. 'Instead, we're just standing here to stop any Titans that enter the woods.'
All of the recruits were nervous except for Mikasa and Faye.
"Five-meter class incoming!" A soilder informed.
'Why bring the formation here? What is Commander Erwin thinking?' Armin thought. 'No, that isn't what we should think about. The Female Titan is pursuing Eren. And the commander knows that. Assume those two things, and see what you can deduce.'
.
"Captain!" Eren called out. "Captain Levi!"
"Hmm?"
"It seems something's approaching us from the right. How are we supposed to dodge the Titans or protect the carts?"
"Hmm... We can't do that anymore." Levi replied calmly.
"Then why?" Eren asked with wide eyes.
"Look around, Eren." Levi replied. "All these giant trees are perfect for 3D maneuver gear. So, if needed, we can escape."
"Yes, sir!" Eren replied.
'I see. I just can't keep up right now because I'm still new.' Eren thought. 'He won't just tell me the answer. I have to figure it out for myself. I'm sure that's how they all learned to fight.' He looked at his comrades and was surprised that they had a face of uncertainty.
"What the hell? Seriously? Damn it all. What the hell is going on here?" Oluo mumbled to himself.
Petra was staring ahead, nervous and unsure while Erd and Gunther looked apprehensive.
'Wait! Don't tell me... No one...knows what's really going on?' Eren stared ahead at their captain. 'Maybe...not even Captain Levi?'
.
'The Female Titan is after Eren.' Armin thought. 'If I'm right about that, then there's only one reason to come here. This is where Commander Erwin intends to deal with the Female Titan.'
"Armin." Faye said, snapping Armin out of his thoughts. "Our orders were to keep the Titans out of the forest, right?
Armin followed her gaze. He was startled to see a dozen Titans clawing at the trees, trying to get to them.
Around them, the rest of the recruits watched the Titans with various expressions, some nervous and some blank-faced.
.
Behind the Levi squad, someone fired a black flare. Eren spotted it first.
"A black smoke round!" Eren informed.
"It's from directly behind us!" Gunther said.
"It's that thing that's been chasing us from the right." Erd said, looking over his shoulder.
"Draw your blades." Levi ordered and pulled out one of his swords. "If that thing decides to show itself, we won't have any time."
After some moments, the Female Titan appeared, swatting a soldier and racing forward. Eren gasped at the sight behind him.
"Run!" Levi ordered.
Petra watched the Female Titan, running almost parallel to them.
Eren was looking with wide eyes while the female titan lunged toward them, breaking a tree that was in her way.
"It's fast!" Eren said.
"We can't get away in this forest!" Gunther said.
"It's catching up to us!" Erd yelled.
"Captain, can we switch to maneuver gear?!" Petra asked but Levi didn't reply, looking silently over his shoulder. "Captain!"
.
"You won't escape!" A Scout yelled, coming from behind the Female Titan.
.
"Reinforcements from behind!" Petra said.
.
The Female Titan tilted her head to dodge the hook and grabbed it, yanking it to bring the soldier close and rammed her shoulder against a tree with him between them, crushing him. Another soldier attacked and the Female Titan grabbed her wire and threw her over her shoulder.
.
"Captain, your orders?!" Petra cried out in panic.
"Let's go for it!" Oluo yelled. "That thing's dangerous! We should kill it!"
"I'll turn it into mincemeat!" Erd yelled and pulled out his sword, looking furious.
'I don't know what to expect now...' Eren thought. 'Even if they are elite soilders, I don't think they will be able to defeat it.'
Eren turned back to their captain, who hadn't spoken a word.
"Captain Levi?" Eren said.
"Captain!"
"Give us your orders."
"At this rate, it will catch up with us!"
"We'll kill it here. That's why we came to this forest! Right, Captain?"
"Captain, your orders!"
Levi finally looked at them.
"Everyone, cover your ears." He ordered and pulled out his flare gun and fired off a round.
'Screw this titan...'
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