Chapter 69

After setting out from Karanes District, the Survey Corps had been advancing non-stop towards Shiganshina District.

On the surface, the announced objective of this operation was to head to Eren Yeager's hometown to search for the basement that might contain the secrets of the Titans, in order to gather more intelligence on the Titans and gradually reclaim Wall Maria.

Even most of the Survey Corps soldiers had heard this version of the mission.

However, the true purpose of this operation was to lure out the intelligent Titan that was hiding among humans. Only a few high-ranking members of the Survey Corps, including Erwin, the vice-commander, Levi, and Hange, as well as the most important strategist, Tang Cheng, were fully aware of the plan.

Combining the information from the original story and the changes that occurred after the challenger's intrusion, Tang Cheng had meticulously refined and patched up the plan. He believed that his plan was perfect and that if the Female Titan really appeared, it would certainly be captured. However, he could not guarantee its success with 100% certainty.

In the original story, Erwin's plan was both a success and a failure. It succeeded in luring out the Female Titan and capturing her for a time, but it ultimately failed when the Female Titan escaped, killing dozens of elite Survey Corps soldiers along the way, including almost all of Levi's squad, leaving only Levi alive.

Such casualties were a severe blow to the Survey Corps.

After Tang Cheng's adjustments, theoretically, he could minimize the casualties, but as they say, plans can't keep up with changes. Some random events were beyond his control, and even if the Female Titan wasn't lured out this time, it wouldn't be surprising.

On the other hand, the most important aspect of the Survey Corps' mission outside the walls was not to engage the Titans but to effectively avoid them. With the long-range fan-shaped reconnaissance formation developed by Erwin, this could be achieved with the highest efficiency. However, the problem was that this formation was ineffective against aberrant Titans.

Not long after leaving the old city and entering the wilderness, the formation was quickly disrupted by the appearance of an aberrant Titan, forcing the main force to engage the Titans directly.

"An aberrant Titan has been spotted ahead, a 15-meter class!"

When this information was relayed, a frog-like Titan had already appeared before the main force, less than a hundred meters away. With both sides moving forward, the distance quickly closed to less than fifty meters.

"Uh..." Hrista, in the main force, panicked and instinctively tried to move to the side.

Tang Cheng, quick on the draw, grabbed her reins and warned, "I already said that from the start of the plan until you become the queen, you must stay by my side at all times!"

Before Hrista could react, Tang Cheng had already jumped off his horse, his iron chain shooting out from his waist and embedding itself in the shoulder of the aberrant Titan. Using the force of the chain's retraction, Tang Cheng flew forward, drawing a curve in the air and landing behind the Titan's head. He then extended his blades, and blood bloomed in the air.

The aberrant Titan was immediately killed, falling over the main force and landing heavily on the ground behind them.

At the same time, Tang Cheng had already retracted his chain and returned to the main force, but instead of getting back on his own horse, he mounted Hrista's horse, taking the reins around her body.

With the formation disrupted and direct engagement with the Titans inevitable, Tang Cheng couldn't afford to be too careless, even though in the original story, Hrista had survived all the brutal battles with a protagonist's aura. If she were to die now, his entire plan would face irreparable consequences.

To Tang Cheng, only what he held in his own hands was truly safe!

"Continue forward!" Erwin shouted, "Ignore the attacking Titans. All Titans that appear will be handled by Tang Cheng. The main force will continue to advance!"

Hearing Erwin's words, Tang Cheng smiled. The issue of killing Titans after unavoidable combat had been discussed from the beginning. Tang Cheng enjoyed the thrill of battle and could earn some reward points, while Erwin, after witnessing Tang Cheng's combat prowess, believed this method could minimize casualties and was worth the decision.

Thus, all Titans that attacked from the front became Tang Cheng's prey, whether they were ordinary Titans or aberrant Titans, whether they were below or above 10 meters, all it took was one slash.

However, Tang Cheng was slightly disappointed. After killing seven Titans, he only earned 40 survival points: 20 for the aberrant Titan, 10 each for the 13-meter and 15-meter Titans, and none for the 12-meter and below Titans. In other words, only Titans 13 meters and above now offered rewards.

Indeed, the fewer the rewards, the more difficult it became to earn them. At this rate, once he killed a certain number, even 13-meter and above ordinary Titans might no longer offer rewards. The cycle space had truly pushed the limits of preventing score farming... Tang Cheng grumbled to himself, but he had no complaints. He had never intended to farm points, and exploiting system loopholes for personal gain was ultimately the behavior of the weak.

"Whoosh!"

At that moment, a yellow signal flare was launched from the right flank, rising into the sky.

"They're here!" The ordinary youth and the auntie girl's faces lit up with joy, "It's an intelligent Titan!"

A yellow signal flare indicated the appearance of a Titan transformed from a human, which the Survey Corps called an intelligent Titan.

"According to the plan, can you lure it over?" Erwin looked at Tang Cheng.

"Do you know who I am? Once it appears, it won't be going back!" Tang Cheng smiled confidently, then flicked the reins, and his horse galloped forward.

Erwin, leading the main force, also sped up, quickly catching up to Tang Cheng. He glanced at him, his expression unchanged but his tone curious, "A horse carrying two people can still run so fast. Is that because of you?"

"Haha, it's because I have special riding skills," Tang Cheng said, his arm around Hrista's slender waist. "With my skills, even with two people, the horse only feels a weight of about 20 kilograms."

"Can you teach me this skill?" Erwin asked. Although he didn't know if Tang Cheng was telling the truth, he had seen the horse's speed. If the Survey Corps members could learn this skill, it would improve their survival rate.

"No, no," Tang Cheng shook his head, proud. "I learned this skill after three months of studying bedroom techniques. Even if I taught you, not only might your average human body not be able to handle it, but you'd also need a woman willing to practice bedroom techniques with you first."

Erwin, always poker-faced, remained expressionless even at this lewd comment, but Hrista, in Tang Cheng's arms, was blushing furiously... Who would talk about bedroom techniques in front of an inexperienced girl, especially in such a situation? It was too heartless!

On the other side, as the main force advanced quickly, the ordinary youth and the auntie girl's pace gradually slowed.

As they moved forward, they talked, "With those two on the flanks, the Survey Corps' casualties should be reduced significantly."

"This is probably another reason why Tang Cheng placed them on the flanks. In the original story, the Survey Corps suffered heavy losses because they didn't know the Female Titan's true power and attacked her recklessly, thinking she was just an aberrant Titan. But they can recognize the Female Titan, and with Tang Cheng only having them responsible for luring her, the casualties should be minimized."

The auntie girl nodded, then changed the subject, "But to think that a heartless guy like Tang Cheng would actually care about the Survey Corps' survival. That's surprising."

"It's not that strange," the ordinary youth said nonchalantly. "After a month of interaction, I've come to understand him a bit. Although he's reckless and often puts himself in danger, he does try to protect the people around him. He's not the type to treat us as expendable pawns. Besides... preserving more of the Survey Corps' combat strength is also beneficial for the future coup."

At that moment, another yellow signal flare rose into the sky.

The two immediately stopped talking, their expressions becoming serious.

The first step of the luring operation was successful. The Female Titan was approaching the rear of Levi's squad and the core bait of this operation, Eren Yeager!