"It's a red Signal Flare!"
The officer pointed at the red smoke in the distance and explained to Lock, "That means the Soldiers on the perimeter have encountered Titans."
"Let's fire one as well to pass the message to the center."
"Understood!" Lock took the Flare gun from his waist and pulled a Signal Flare marked with red from the bag hanging on his saddle.
After loading it, he fired it toward the sky.
Bang! Red smoke rose into the sky.
The piercing sound made Lock frown.
"You idiot, always remember to cover your ears when firing a Signal Flare."
"Otherwise, if you fire it a few more times, your ears will be ringing so much you won't be able to sleep for days after you get back."
Rubbing his ears, Lock asked in confusion, "I saw the other officers didn't..."
"Don't copy those veterans; they're used to it. You're just starting, so you must remember these things."
"Alright, I'll remember!"
The officer frowned as he looked at the sky to the left, then turned back to Lock. "I'm going to support the Vanguard on the perimeter. Stay in this position and move according to the Commander's signals."
"I understand!"
Once the officer left, Lock twirled the Flare gun in his hand, knowing the team was very close to the Forest of Giant Trees.
The Corps would soon encounter the Titan swarm that Reiner and the others had lured into the forest.
Bang, bang... Lock looked toward the sound.
Red smoke rose from the front-left, front-right, and both sides.
Hearing the footsteps of Titans rushing into the formation, Lock left the position the officer had assigned and moved toward the front center...
Erwin gazed at the dense red smoke ahead and rejected his subordinate's suggestion to detour, waving his hand. "Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"We can't waste time; we must force a Breakthrough!"
Under Erwin's command, the entire formation began to contract, and the Titans beneath the red smoke appeared before everyone.
Encountering Titans head-on on flat ground, without obstacles suitable for using Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, it would take at least two veterans to handle a single Titan.
Of course, the elites were an exception.
The members of the original Levi Squad all possessed the ability to subjugate Titans alone under such circumstances.
But they had all died at Annie's hands not long ago.
Levi was also staying in the Trost District to recover from a leg injury.
In this situation, Erwin was already prepared for casualties.
Just as he was about to call his officers forward, he suddenly saw two horses charge straight out of the line.
"What are those two doing?" the Adjutant beside him asked in surprise.
Lock and Mikasa galloped out together as four Titans over ten meters tall charged toward them side by side.
Even in this situation, Lock had the leisure to say to Mikasa, "Two each?"
Mikasa ignored him; her only thought was to catch up with Eren as quickly as possible.
Lock shrugged, gripped his blades with both hands, and stood up on his horse's back.
The grappling hooks at their waists shot out, and Lock and Mikasa soared into the air simultaneously.
The members of the Survey Corps saw only two white trails tracing symmetrical arcs in the sky, followed immediately by the sight of Titans wailing in pain and collapsing.
The four Titans blocking the way were slain in an instant. Before the crowd could even react with a cry of surprise, they heard Erwin roar, "Full speed ahead!"
Jean and Connie led Lock's and Mikasa's horses to the two who had landed. Lock smiled and thanked Connie before mounting his horse and returning to the group.
Countless green Signal Flares pointed in the same direction, and the entire team formed a long column, heading straight for the Forest of Giant Trees ahead.
Over a dozen Pure Titans of various sizes were still gathered at the entrance; they would have to get past them to enter the forest and search.
Just then, a bolt of golden lightning fell from the sky into the depths of the forest. Armin's expression shifted as he said to Erwin, "A flash of light just appeared in the forest. I believe that's the light emitted during a Titan transformation."
Hearing this, Erwin immediately ordered, "Everyone, scatter!"
"The enemy has already transformed. We need to find Eren and take him back!"
The Pure Titans ahead were already rushing toward the team with all sorts of bizarre gaits.
Upon hearing Erwin's command, the team quickly dispersed, preparing to weave through the gaps between the Titans.
The moment the Titans and Soldiers made contact, several Soldiers were snatched by giant hands and shoved into mouths.
The screams of their comrades and the sound of Titans chewing terrified many Military Police Corps Soldiers, but the Survey Corps Soldiers had already taken the opportunity to rush into the forest.
Lock didn't immediately activate his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear; he even stopped his horse after entering the forest.
It was as if he were waiting for something.
"Roar!" The roar of the Titan Ymir had taught everyone's ears.
Lock immediately launched himself into the air, flying toward the source of the sound.
When he saw Ymir hanging from a tree trunk, Lock immediately looked at the trees around her.
"There it is!"
Lock quickly deduced the direction Ymir had come from based on the scratch marks on the tree trunks.
He ignored Ymir and flew directly in that direction. The others who arrived after hearing the noise were all distracted by Ymir; no one saw Lock leave on his own.
Countless giant trees flew past him as Lock headed straight for the forest's edge...
On a branch of a giant tree at the outermost layer, Bertholdt, carrying the unconscious Eren on his back, looked into the depths of the forest alongside Reiner.
"How much longer for Ymir? The Corps will find this place any minute!"
Both of them looked anxious.
Suddenly, Bertholdt heard something and immediately shouted, "Reiner!"
A grappling hook struck the branch between them, and Lock plummeted down from the top of the dense canopy!
Reiner reacted instantly, drawing a blade from his waist and holding it across his chest.
Blades clashed, and sparks flew.
Using the momentum of his descent, Lock knocked Reiner off the branch!
Landing where Reiner had just been standing, Lock turned and pulled out a pistol, aiming it at Bertholdt.
Bang!
To Lock's surprise, Bertholdt had actually anticipated the shot and dodged it.
Tossing aside the useless single-shot gun, Lock charged at Bertholdt with his blades.
"Reiner!"
Clang!
Lock stopped and turned to block Reiner's sudden attack.
Forcing Reiner's blade away, Lock delivered a front kick to Reiner's chest, then ducked under Bertholdt's sword swing before turning and knocking him back with an elbow strike.
Lock's gaze swept over the two of them, knowing he could now talk to them.
He gave them a confident smile. "This is the difference between second place and third and fourth."
Reiner and Bertholdt both endured the pain in their chest, standing on either side of Lock with their blades drawn.
Reiner gritted his teeth. "Lock, as I thought, you only joined the Survey Corps temporarily to catch us."
Lock stood his ground and said, "Yeah. After all, you two are so strong. If I hadn't come, the Corps likely wouldn't have been able to stop you."
Bertholdt suddenly asked, "What about Annie? Have you already caught her?"
Lock didn't answer for a moment.
Bertholdt said anxiously, "Lock, Annie's okay, right? You wouldn't let The Corps do anything to her, would you?"
Looking at Bertholdt, Lock finally spoke, "Don't be so naive, Bertholdt."
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