“Are you sure?” Tang An stopped and looked at the determined Eld, then glanced at Levi, Hange, and everyone else.
“Great! I didn’t expect such excitement so early in the morning,” Hange said, her eyes gleaming with excitement even behind her glasses.
Even Eren seemed interested.
“Alright.” Tang An shrugged nonchalantly. These guys wanted to test his strength, so holding back was unnecessary.
Seeing Tang An agree, Eld stepped forward, and the two faced each other. Eld adopted a combat stance while Tang An stood casually, full of openings, as if he didn’t care. This annoyed Eld.
Only Levi frowned slightly. He didn’t think Tang An was full of openings; instead, he seemed ready to strike like a venomous snake. Remembering the kick he received from Tang An last time, Levi’s hands trembled slightly.
“Argh…” Eld roared, charging at Tang An like a bear and sweeping his leg with a whoosh. As a Levi’s elite squad member, Eld was no ordinary person, excelling in all areas.
Tang An remained calm. As Eld’s kick neared his face, he suddenly crouched to dodge it and performed a sweep kick of his own, much faster than Eld’s.
“Not good,” Eld thought, but it was too late to react.
Bang!
Eld hit the ground hard. Trying to get up to continue the fight, he found Tang An’s black boot in front of his face.
He lost and lost entirely.
“Well played,” Tang An said, extending a hand to Eld, who hesitated before taking it and being pulled up.
“So quick?” Hange hadn’t even had time to react.
“You’re really strong,” Eren muttered, his emotions in turmoil. After witnessing Tang An’s fights with both Levi and now Eld, he was sure Tang An was mighty.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to train. I’ll bring back food for lunch,” Tang An said, waving to the group before heading to the small hill on the right. Soon, he disappeared from view.
“Eld, don’t be discouraged. Even Captain Levi was kicked by Tang An once,” Hange said, trying to console Eld while stirring up trouble.
“Shh! Hange!” Eren tensed, and Petra and the others quickly covered Hange’s mouth. Didn’t they see how dark Levi’s face had gotten?
But everyone, including Levi himself, was now curious about who was better at combat, Levi or Tang An.
By noon, Tang An returned carrying a black bear and a wild boar, both of which left the group stunned. Together, they weighed over a thousand pounds, yet Tang An showed no signs of strain.
“How did you do it?” Hange circled Tang An, occasionally squeezing his muscles.
“They’re even elastic,” Hange said, eyes burning with curiosity as she started to pull at Tang An’s clothes, only to be stopped by Petra.
“This must weigh over a thousand pounds. They were beaten to death,” Eld said, examining the wounds on the black bear, his eyelid twitching.
Killing a 600-700 pound black bear bare-handed… What did that say about their earlier duel?
“Oh, I just got lucky. I found them fighting and took advantage of it,” Tang An said, waving it off as trivial.
“I feel like hitting you.”
“Me too.”
“You think you can take him on?”
Tang An’s smug expression was infuriating, drawing a chorus of grumbles. But everyone got to work quickly—gathering wood, skinning the animals, and preparing for a hearty lunch.
Burping contentedly, Hange leaned back, satisfied. The others also reclined in their chairs, mouths greasy, with the table covered in bones, most of which were in front of Tang An.
“Where are you going, Tang An?” Petra and the others asked, seeing him get up.
“Training, of course,” Tang An said, leaving behind a stunned group.
“He’s insane!”
“Doesn’t he have any other hobbies besides training?”
“He’s like Hange, a bit…”
“What?”
Hange’s glasses gleamed menacingly.
“New recruits should be arriving this afternoon, right?” Oluo changed the subject.
“Mikasa and the others are coming?” His stomach was full of bear meat, and Eren perked up at the news.
“By the look of things, they should be arriving soon. Erwin and Smith will be handling it,” Levi said, getting up and heading upstairs. He glanced out the window at Tang An training in the distance before turning away. He had to keep an eye on both Eren and Tang An.
Time passed quickly, and around five in the afternoon, the sky turned red, and a cloud of dust and the sound of hooves appeared in the distance.
“They’re here,” Gunther said, standing guard and watching Erwin, Smith, and several recruits approach.
“They’ve arrived?” Eren and the others stepped out of the castle at the sound of hooves.
“Eren.”
“Mikasa, Armin.”
Eren waved.
“Jean, Connie, did you join the Survey Corps too?” Eren asked, noting that they had often talked about joining the Military Police.
“I’m already regretting it,” Jean said, looking unwell.
“Reiner, Sasha, Bertholdt.”
“Krista, Ymir.”
“Hey, Eren!”
“Zhou Wei, you joined the Survey Corps too?”
“Yes,” Zhou Wei replied.
Erwin scanned the area at a corner of the castle and asked Levi, “Where’s Tang An?”
“He’s training over there. Did you recruit that guy too?” Levi pointed to the hill on the castle’s right side, his eyes fixed on Zhou Wei in the crowd.
“He’s highly suspicious. I need to keep him under close watch,” Erwin said, his face serious. “Has Tang An done anything unusual?”
“No, he can’t be a titan,” Levi replied, stating his belief.
“Are you sure?” Erwin frowned.
“Just a gut feeling.”
“I understand,” Erwin nodded, though his thoughts remained hidden.
With the recruits joining, the castle became lively. Near dinnertime, Tang An returned with a deer and a wild boar, shocking everyone.
“Tang An, you…”
Connie and the others stared at the deer and boar in the courtyard, stunned.
“New recruits, stop gawking and start cleaning. We’re having a feast tonight,” Eld said, feeling no guilt about assigning chores to the new members.
“Did Tang An catch all of this?”
“They were fighting and injured each other, so I just picked them up,” Tang An said with a laugh.
“So that’s how it was!”
Some believed him.
“This batch of new recruits isn’t very bright,” Hange commented, adjusting her glasses.
With many hands at work, the deer and boar were quickly prepared and served.
Surrounded by the long table, everyone enjoyed a hearty dinner. Zhou Wei’s presence made Tang An uneasy. He knew Zhou Wei had likely used some sort of cheat to join the Survey Corps. Tang An also noticed Zhou Wei watching him closely, occasionally observing him from the corner of his eye.
The worst thing had happened.
After dinner, Erwin began discussing the 57th Expedition Outside the Walls plan. The operation was set for the day after tomorrow, but Erwin didn’t disclose the ultimate objective.
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