The last expedition's results led to Levi and me being recognised as elite soldiers.
Additionally, the commander came to a realisation.
It's not enough to simply avoid Titans forever.
Maybe a more confrontational approach would work better.
And with that new mindset, Keith Shadis formulated a new strategy.
It involved concentrating manpower into one group, while the others acted as decoys or support in defeating Titans.
In summary, that's how the first special operations squad came about.
In the future, this squad would be known as the Levi squad.
But currently, it consisted of me, Levi, Miche Zachary and Hange.
With Miche as the captain.
Without a doubt, they were all veteran soldiers, all of whom I recognised from the anime.
"Kill it without fail."
"400 metres to target!"
In the depths of the forest, a wide, bald fifteen-metre Titan loomed over us.
Erwin's command echoed and resonated off the tall trees.
"Just as we practised! Split into five groups! We'll be the decoys! The special operations squad will attack!"
"Teach them the power of the human race!"
Just like that, five squads rushed out and encircled the Titan ahead.
The supporting groups sliced at its joints.
"I got it!"
In order to gain some XP, I took advantage of this opportunity.
Without any assistance from my skills I managed to defeat the Titan.
[+7000XP]
The Titan collapsed face-first into the ground with steam hissing off its corpse.
"Well done! Continue onwards!"
The commander remained steadfast on the mission ahead.
"You did it! I guess you're not half bad for a thug!"
Hange exclaimed with joy.
Miche intervened souring the mood.
"Don't get complacent… After all this forest had almost taken out an entire expedition force before…"
It was exactly as Miche said.
In the briefing before the mission, we were told this forest had nearly taken out an early expedition force.
Basically, there's a high concentration of abnormals here. And combined with the terrain it's an extremely dangerous place.
Despite that Keith Shadis had faith in his tactic, he was confident he could tackle this challenge.
That was until…
"Aah! Help me!"
Three abnormals leapt out of the forest, decimating an entire squad.
With the strongest soldiers concentrated at the front, naturally, the rear guard and flanks would be weaker.
And precisely because he overlooked that, the formation quickly fell into disarray.
"Commander! What do we do?! They're taking out our rear guard and the right flank!"
"Black flares are popping up everywhere!"
"Advance forward! If we break formation now, we all die!"
Commander Shadis' darkened eyes trembled, yet he still uttered this command.
"But…"
Erwin was reluctant about this plan from the very beginning but couldn't disobey orders from his higher-ups.
As we continued forward, the words from earlier struck a chord in my mind.
'He said right flank?! That's where Isabel and Furlan are!'
It seemed that Levi and I came to the realisation at the same time, as we glanced at each other, fearing the worst.
But we were stuck in a dilemma.
Should we break formation to protect them and risk everyone else dying, or trust that Furlan and Isabel could protect themselves?
I would feel guilty about breaking the formation, and I'm certain the repercussions wouldn't be light.
However, I couldn't shake those sinister thoughts off either.
Levi's voice snapped me out of my daze.
"Lucian, you go! I can handle things here myself."
"Are you guys seriously considering breaking formation?!"
Miche said distastefully.
"Do you really think I would die?! Clearly, this formation isn't working! Lucian, just go! I can handle things here myself!"
"Alright… I'll go!"
I pulled the reins of my horse, veering off track.
"Lucian where do you think you're going?!"
As I broke off, Erwin's reprimanding voice grew distant.
I headed towards the black flare behind me to the right.
The silence of the expansive forest was deafening and left me alone with my thoughts.
The only thing I could do was pray they were still alive.
As I continued onwards, an eight-metre Titan suddenly popped up from behind a tree.
"Out of my way! I don't have time for this!"
I jumped off my horse and spun around.
As its arm extended towards me, I used it as a platform, activating [Quickstep] and lunging forward with a powerful step, gliding past its eyes and towards its nape.
And with a swift slash at its nape, I killed it.
[+12000XP]
I hurriedly plopped back onto my horse and continued trudging on.
Eventually, the trail of a black flare in the sky came into my sight.
Dead bodies and limbs were littered everywhere. My eyes scanned vigorously, and then…
"Furlan!"
Isabel's shriek pierced my ears.
My heart stopped.
Furlan was in the palm of a Titan. Around him were several others, all over ten metres tall.
Isabel was also surrounded.
"Commander Flagon… Sairam… they're dead?!"
Furlan was desperately hacking at the Titan's fingers, his legs dangling in the air.
"I have no time!"
This wasn't the time to use my horse.
I got off and spammed my Quickstep skill in rapid succession.
Using it like this will drain me of my SP rapidly, but I would travel faster than on horseback.
"Come on! Faster!"
With each progressive leap forward, my thoughts became more and more grim.
And with Enhanced Evasion, everything was in slow motion, making it even worse.
'Quickstep!'
My SP was draining quickly.
Already half consumed.
I'm so close!
I got close enough to make out their conversation.
"—No! Isabel, leave me! It's useless, there's too many! Run!"
Isabel, in a desperate attempt, tried to save him. She used her ODM to hook onto a tree, but was caught by an abnormal grabbing the line she shot out.
She was slammed onto the ground unconscious.
"Isabel!"
My eyes went back and forth, assessing what to do, but I was frozen.
If I go for Furlan now, Isabel might die.
Faced with such a sudden choice, my body tensed and my mind froze.
What do I do?!
I turned towards Furlan, then switched to Isabel.
I turned to Furlan again, but I realised it was too late.
Furlan looked at me with a resigned look.
He gave a nod with a defeated smile plastered on his face.
I could see him mouth words, but I couldn't make out what he said.
!!
Crunch!
His skull burst open and blood splattered everywhere.
"Furlan! NO!"
I didn't even have time to grieve, as the abnormal from earlier was already trying to eat Isabel.
[Quickstep]
[Enhanced Evasion]
I lunged forwards.
With the triggers on the handles of my blades, I made a sharp turn mid air using gas, slicing at the masseter of the abnormal.
Its jaw went loose, narrowly avoiding the limp body of Isabel on the ground.
In that moment, I carried her away and stowed her away on my horse.
But before I could even relax, my Vigilance skill activated, and I felt the presence of a threat behind me.
Another abnormal Titan sprinted towards us.
I didn't waste any time.
I used Backstab to get behind it and leapt up into the air, decapitating it.
[15000XP]
When I checked my stamina, my eyes widened.
[Name: Lucian Edelhart]
Level: 12
HP: 36/40
SP: 22/40
Stamina: 3/10
Skills:
[Quickstep]
[Backstab]
[Conceal]
[Enhanced Evasion]
[Vigilance (Passive)]
[Pilfer]
[Blackjack]
[Shadow Veil (Passive)]
[Assassinate]
EXP: 36000/102400
Attributes: [1 Skill Point Available!]
Vigor: 4
Focus: 4
Endurance: 1
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
]
If things continue this way, I'm going to run out of stamina soon.
And if that happens, we're both dead.
Fortunately, during this mission, I've killed enough Titans to reach level twelve.
Leaving me no choice but to use my spare Skill Point to level up my stamina.
As soon as I did, I felt reinvigorated.
Using that newfound energy, I rushed back onto my horse and made my way back to the formation.
My eyes lingered on the corpse of Furlan as I left.
But that gaze was broken by the sight of a yellow flare.
***
"One fifteen-metre ahead!"
Thud.
The Titan was easily slain by Levi, yet he showed an uneasy expression.
Miche noticed this and suspected it had to do with Lucian breaking formation.
After all, he was there in the Underground to capture the gang and knew their tight-knit bond.
Anyway, the overall morale was low.
One after the other, squadrons signalled with the black flare.
"Commander, are you sure we should continue forwards?! At this rate…"
Erwin voiced what was on everyone's mind.
What's the point if everyone ends up dead?
Keith Shadis thought they could grit through this, but the damage was clearly too severe.
"Okay… Signal to retreat. I've failed you all."
Just like that, a yellow flare went into the air.
And like a cascading effect, all the other squads relayed the message.
This expedetion was a complete and utter failure.
"Furlan, Isabel and Lucian, I hope you're alright…"
Levi muttered to himself quietly and followed his squad.
One by one, injured soldiers began emerging from the forest.
But it was clear the squads were a fraction of what they had been.
"Seriously, how many soldiers did we lose?!"
Oruo's anxious remark spurred Levi's fear even more.
And his suspicious was settled when his eyes landed on Lucian coming out alone.
(Huh?! Why does he look like that? What happened? Wait… Where's Furlan?)
When it clicked, Levi's eyes darkened and he trembled.
"Impossible. There's no way Lucian would let him die, right?"
As time passed, Levi couldn't find any hint of Furlan's presence and his thoughts only got worse.
And eventually, they all reconvened at the gate to Shiganshina.
By that time, he had already assumed the worst.
He furrowed his brows as he looked at the unconscious Isabel in bandages.
"Levi… I'm sorry. I couldn't make it in time."
Lucian uttered this with a broken cracking voice.
Instead of a responding, all Levi could do was grip the reins of his horse and grit his teeth.
"Open the gates!"
***
As mentioned earlier, the expedition ended in a spectacular failure.
Out of 100 soldiers, only 35 made it out alive.
Countless of them were injured.
And the crowd, as always, were ruthless.
"Looks like another massacre."
"What a failure! Is this what our taxes are spent on?"
I had a strange premonition in my heart.
"Ah… this scene is almost nostalgic. Why could it be? No—"
I was too shaken up by the death of Furlan to consider it, but this must be the scene at the beginning of the anime, right?
I scanned around and I saw him…
In an upright, excited posture, carrying firewood on his back. Beside him was a black-haired girl with a scarf.
"…Eren."
So it really is true.
Then the fall of Shiganshina is bound to happen soon.
Looks like I'll need to make an excuse to travel to Shiganshina as soon as possible.
I don't know what the butterfly effects would be from interfering in this event.
But surely it would be better than doing nothing.
"Moses, where are you?! Moses! Um… excuse me, where is my son Moses?!"
An old lady suddenly blocked Commander Shadis' path.
"Oh… You must be Moses' mother… Bring it."
A soldier brought a cloth that was dyed red.
Inside was the severed arm of a soldier.
She reluctantly opened it, then let out a shriek, breaking out in tears.
"That's all we could recover… I'm truly sorry."
"Uhuuhu! Moses! My son! P-please tell me… did he help… did you at least get one step closer to achieving your goal? My son must've carried out his duties, surely! He must've contributed to mankind with his death in retaliation somehow, right?!"
"Ahem… Of course!"
The commander was quick to comfort her.
But when the lady looked slightly relieved at his false reassurance, guilt surged in his heart and he quickly backtracked.
"…No. Actually… Through this mission, no, in all of our missions— We achieved…
Absolutely nothing! All because of my incompetence, I've gotten all of my soldiers killed for nothing! And we failed to learn anything about them!"
Keith Shadis' bottled emotions burst out all at once.
And he knelt to the ground.
When I saw this, I could only think was, "This is what Furlan died for?!"
***
When we made it back to the HQ, there was no time for me to dwell on Furlan's death.
As Levi and I were summoned to the commander's quarters as soon as we arrived.
And at that moment, I had a feeling my plan to prevent the downfall of Shiganshina was already flawed.
All because of one man.
Erwin.
"You two. I've witnessed what you've done during the expedition. You broke the rules. No matter how strong you are, it's not tolerated. Either I report you to the general Darius Zackly and you face trial, risking execution, or you take responsibility, accepting a punishment of solitary confinement for only two weeks."