Chapter 45: Prepare for Withdrawal

“Mikasa!” Sensing imminent danger, Sikong Xu shouted, then leaped off his horse in an instant, the steel claws of his omni-directional mobility gear shooting out at the same time.

He moved with astonishing speed, covering a dozen meters in the blink of an eye. But the distance between him and Mikasa was simply too great—he was too late.

Fortunately, Mikasa was no ordinary person. Though the abnormal titan’s kick came suddenly, she managed to react immediately after a brief moment of surprise.

The kick was not only unexpected, but also packed with terrifying force—enough, perhaps, to completely demolish a small three-meter-tall house.

The wind pressure alone from that force whipped Mikasa’s dark hair into the air, yet her expression remained unchanged as she gazed at the giant foot hurtling toward her. It was as if, even in the face of death, she would remain calm and unflinching.

Mikasa had always been this way—from the battlefield to daily life, her demeanor was ever-cool, as though nothing in the world could stir her. Perhaps only Sikong Xu could provoke a ripple in her emotions… Or maybe Eren as well…

At that moment, Mikasa’s eyes flashed as she angled her body to the right. Her omni-directional mobility gear erupted with a burst of gas, sending her hurtling forward with powerful thrust.

Using that momentum, she spun around the titan’s foot in a semicircle, narrowly dodging the lethal kick!

Crisis struck in an instant, yet her response was calm and her counterattack ingenious—her chain of movements was flawless, to the point that Sikong Xu, watching from behind, couldn’t help but want to cheer.

Sikong Xu reckoned that even with his own “Infinite Martial Refinement,” he may not have been able to handle it as skillfully or perfectly as Mikasa had.

“Well done, Mikasa!”

As she glided through the air, she seemed to hear Sikong Xu’s voice. A faint, charming smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Her expression sharpened as she looked upward, eyes locking onto the titan’s nape—the most vital spot. A hint of killing intent flashed between her brows.

But Mikasa didn’t immediately rush for the nape with her gear. The abnormal titan had missed her, but now its focus was entirely on her.

If she were to fly straight for its nape now, there was a good chance it would simply swat her down with a palm.

So instead, she set her sights on the titan’s Achilles tendon. Having already traced a semicircular path, she now leapt to the back of the very foot that had just tried to kick her.

Target: the abnormal titan’s Achilles tendon!

Her steel claws, just retracted, shot out again. She sliced through the air, and with the sound of flesh being severed, the abnormal titan toppled to the ground.

Thud!

The fallen giant sent up a cloud of dust, the air around them pushed outward in a brief gust.

“I’m coming!” Seeing Mikasa cut the titan’s tendon and bring it down, Sikong Xu’s eyes lit up.

A regular titan was worth five credits, but an abnormal titan was ten! As a top student of Dawn Academy, how could he ever have enough credits?

After all, it was his “future wife’s” kill—he didn’t mind claiming it himself!

Sikong Xu’s expression was as excited as a crazed old lolicon catching sight of a naked little girl.

Swish! In a flash, Sikong Xu streaked through the air; in the blink of an eye, his blade fell, neatly finishing the job.

“Abnormal titan slain, reward: ten credits.”

Hearing the message imprinted in his mind, Sikong Xu was delighted. Though he’d wasted the first month at the academy, it wasn’t too late to catch up now.

Just thinking about the pile of credits he’d earned in this expedition—along with all the things that could make him stronger—filled him with pride and ambition.

So what if he was a month behind? So what if they called him the “King of the Useless”? One expedition’s harvest was worth an entire month of theirs!

And as far as Sikong Xu remembered, none of the first-year students had ever completed every trial. The best had barely finished two main missions and a side quest.

The thought that he might actually complete all the main missions before finishing this expedition sent another thrill through his heart.

But before he could revel in it, Armin’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“Xu, look over there—another black signal flare!”

Armin’s words instantly caught Sikong Xu’s attention. He remounted his horse and looked toward the right, where a column of black smoke was rising. As that black flare ascended, several red flares shot up as well.

“Damn it, what’s the recon squad on the right flank doing? Not only have two abnormal titans appeared, but now there’s a swarm of regular titans too? Are they surrounded?” Ymir exclaimed angrily, firing off her own signal flare.

“This is bad,” Sikong Xu said, his face full of concern. Knowing the original story, he realized there was only one reason for such a situation during this expedition outside the walls—the Female Titan had appeared!

The Female Titan was somewhat smaller than Titan Eren, but possessed two especially troublesome abilities. First, she could summon and control regular titans.

That was why Annie, the true identity of the Female Titan, dared to attack the Survey Corps alone.

This ability was a headache for ordinary Survey Corps members, but for Sikong Xu, as long as he wasn’t entirely surrounded by dozens of titans, he could always escape, so it wasn’t much of a concern.

However, her second ability was a real problem—crystallization.

Anyone familiar with the original story would know that the Female Titan could crystallize parts of her body, and the resulting crystal was so hard that not even the special steel blades designed for fighting titans could break through.

Sikong Xu understood that if he wanted to complete Main Mission Three, he would have to find a way to deal with that ability.

“Xu, do you know something?” Armin asked, unable to help himself after seeing Sikong Xu’s thoughtful expression.

Armin’s pretty sharp, Sikong Xu mused with a small smile, though he offered no explanation.

He simply analyzed the situation: “With that many titans and at least two abnormals, it’s possible the right-flank recon squad has been wiped out…”

“That’s impossible! They’re all Survey Corps members—every one of them stronger than your average soldier. They can’t just be wiped out like that!” Ymir immediately retorted.

“Ymir… I think Sikong Xu might be right…” Lance voiced his own thoughts. “The recon squad hasn’t sent any more flares for quite a while…”

Lance’s words made everyone pause. Indeed, with so many titans, the squad should have been firing flares and pulling back, yet now, not only were they nowhere to be seen, even their signal flares had ceased.

“Everyone… I think we need to prepare for battle…” Sikong Xu said grimly.

Their team was positioned near the right-flank recon squad. If the titans broke through there, their next target would likely be this very spot!

The prospect of facing the Female Titan tightened Sikong Xu’s grip on his reins.

“If a horde of titans appears, everyone, be ready to retreat.”