Chapter 17

"Don't even think about retreating. Can't you see the people fighting outside?"

"You brat! Speak respectfully to your superior!"

"Your build is as big as a giant's, but your actions are like a little girl's."

Nike began arguing with Kitz.

It couldn't be helped. Kitz, just like in the original story, was trying to flee and commit a massive blunder. Persuasion with simple words was impossible.

"I'm following the manual to reorganize the central unit and hold the crumbling front line. What's cowardly about that!"

Of course, Kitz wasn't entirely wrong.

In warfare, it's common to pull back from a collapsing front line and regroup for a counterattack.

However, the manual Kitz followed was likely created and distributed by the royal faction, who might have fought giants once. It wasn't very useful in battles against giants, not humans.

"How did you rise to that position? Especially in this era?"

As Nike suspected, Kitz wasn't fit to be a commander. He was panicking because of the many soldiers dying due to his decisions, and he clung to a manual written by people who hadn't even seen a giant.

In short, he couldn't handle emergency situations. That was Kitz's flaw and the reason why many soldiers died needlessly in the original story.

"If you keep babbling, I'll slice your throat right now!"

In a panic, Kitz drew his sword and placed it near Nike's neck. But Nike, unfazed, stared at the sword.

The dust on Kitz's sword indicated he hadn't used it in a long time. Although he aimed it at Nike, the blade trembled slightly.

'He really has lost his mind.'

What could he do, trembling with a sword at the neck of an unarmed person? A soldier must threaten properly.

Nike glanced at her bag.

Inside were only a few signal flares and sound bombs. But that should be enough to persuade him. Nike turned her attention to the status window.

Since realizing her reincarnation, the status window had permanently occupied one side of her vision, showing her stats.

[Nike Zackly (14)

Charisma 3

Intuition 2

Luck 5

Trust of Surrounding People 4

Femininity 2]

'I need to increase my intuition temporarily.'

To resolve this situation, intuition was necessary. Nike planned to take down Kitz decisively.

[In exchange for increasing femininity by 1, intuition will be temporarily set to 10. Accept?]

'Accept.'

...

[If Kitz issues a warning and you refuse, he will attempt to decapitate you.]

The information from the status window was injected into my mind. It detailed what Kitz was about to do to me.

So Kitz will issue a warning. Despite everything, he still seemed somewhat rational. But the trembling sword made it clear he wasn't commander material.

"Apologize to me immediately and fight the giants outside!"

"Sorry, but I can't do that."

The sword's trembling near my neck stopped. Had he resolved himself? Kitz glared at me.

"Nike, the supply officer. This is my final order. Go outside immediately and fight the giants!"

He expects me to fight giants? The notion made me laugh. I, with zero aptitude for maneuvering gear, against the commander of the Garrison Regiment, Kitz? There's no debate about who's more suited to fighting giants.

"I have no aptitude for maneuvering gear. But unlike someone hiding here trembling, I have experience assisting in exterminations."

"What extermination experience could you have without maneuvering gear? Stop bluffing."

Some soldiers around Kitz began mocking me.

"It seems the supply officer has some mental issues. We'll isolate her; follow the soldiers!"

The soldiers around Kitz started walking towards me. One of them even carried handcuffs, planning to isolate me as Kitz ordered.

But it didn't matter. My intuition was now at 10.

[Four soldiers are targeting you. Defeat them in the order: right, left, left, right.]

Following the status window's instructions, I quietly waited for the right moment. With the combat skills taught by my father, Darius Zackly, and the Military Police, along with the status window's help, I was confident.

"Stay still for a moment."

As I timed it, I suddenly fired a signal flare at a soldier's face. As he recoiled in surprise, I tackled him with my shoulder, knocking him down.

"What, what the...?!"

My shoulder hurt from the impact. Damn, these soldiers were sturdily built. But there was no time to waste.

I had to finish this before the smoke cleared. Otherwise, the training corps would face significant casualties to secure the gas supply at Trost District.

"Christa, Ymir, Connie! Handle the other three!"

"Alright... I was getting sick of them trying to flee on their own!"

Ymir answered from within the smoke. The sounds of fighting indicated they were following my lead.

'Let's keep this up. Quickly subdue Kitz...'

[Kitz is swinging his sword at your upper body.]

Responding to the status window's alert, I ducked immediately. A whoosh of air passed over my head.

Damn, the intuition boost is incredible.

Thanks to this, I knew Kitz was right in front of me. Now, the priority was to subdue Kitz quickly.

But how?

I was only a few centimeters taller than Christa.

On the other hand, Kitz was among the larger men in the Garrison Regiment.

'…Giving up because of that would mean not surviving in this giant-infested world.'

If you're at a disadvantage in every way, use something else. That's the way to win.

I immediately pulled a sound bomb from my bag and loaded it into the launcher.

A sound bomb.

Unlike a signal flare, it's a non-lethal round that produces a loud noise.

Commonly used by the Survey Corps, it's deployed to signal their location when a soldier gets lost during expeditions outside the walls.

In other words, it makes a very loud noise.

"Take this sound bomb!!"

Aiming the sound bomb precisely at Kitz, I pulled the trigger.

Bang-!!!

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