# Chapter 40: The False Goddess
Boom, boom, boom.
The Armored Titan ran quickly, gradually putting distance between itself and the wall.
Su Xiao stood on the somewhat bumpy shoulder of the Armored Titan, his gaze fixed on the top of the wall shrouded in steam.
"Reiner, something's coming. Be on alert."
A figure burst out from the steam—it was a Titan about seven meters tall.
Bertholdt stared blankly at the Titan that emerged from the steam, his expression complex.
"Is that Berik? No, Berik was already devoured by a mindless Titan. Could it be..."
Bertholdt recognized the identity of that Titan—it was the power possessed by their already fallen comrade, the Jaw Titan.
Now that they were far from the wall, Su Xiao wasn't worried about the Survey Corps giving chase.
There were no horses outside the wall. The Survey Corps would need at least a few hours to hoist horses down from inside the wall. There was no way they could catch up to Su Xiao and the others on foot.
"The Jaw Titan, huh? Ignore it for now. Keep moving forward."
Reiner, who had transformed into the Armored Titan, hesitated for a moment before finally nodding and continuing forward.
The Armored Titan ran ahead, with Su Xiao and Bertholdt standing on its shoulders, while the Jaw Titan chased from behind.
The Jaw Titan was about seven meters tall, with a fierce appearance—long arms, short legs, running on all fours like a wild beast. Its most conspicuous feature was its gleaming sharp teeth, which undoubtedly possessed formidable biting power.
Their current location was inside the already fallen Wall Maria. The territory of Wall Maria was vast, and traveling straight through it would require a long journey.
The Armored Titan, Reiner, didn't have the stamina for prolonged running. They would need to find a place to rest midway.
"Reiner, let's go to the Forest of Giants," Bertholdt suggested.
The Forest of Giants was a vast, dense woodland within Wall Maria. The trees there were typically several meters in diameter, allowing them to rest on the tall branches, safe from mindless Titan attacks.
"We can't go to the Forest of Giants," Su Xiao vetoed the idea.
"Why not?" Bertholdt looked at Su Xiao with confusion. After having his opinion rejected, Bertholdt immediately became indecisive.
"Too obvious a target. After the Survey Corps finishes hoisting their horses, the first place they'll think of is the Forest of Giants."
Su Xiao tried hard to recall the terrain within Wall Maria.
"Do you remember the location of Eren's hometown?" Su Xiao looked at Bertholdt.
"I vaguely remember some of it. It's on the path we have to take to leave Wall Maria quickly."
"We'll rendezvous with Annie first, then head straight there. If Reiner can't run anymore, Annie can carry us. We can't go to the Forest of Giants, no matter what."
Having knowledge of the original story, Su Xiao knew that Reiner and the others had rested in the Forest of Giants, which allowed the Survey Corps to find them, and Eren was subsequently taken away.
He would never make that mistake.
The Titanized Reiner nodded in agreement with Su Xiao's opinion. Bertholdt, lacking a firm stance, immediately seconded the motion.
Roar!
The Armored Titan suddenly let out a loud cry, which puzzled Su Xiao at first, but his confusion was quickly resolved when he saw the Female Titan running toward them from a distance.
The Female Titan ran close to the Armored Titan and immediately de-Titanized. Annie used her Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear to leap onto the Armored Titan's shoulder.
Annie maintained her aloof demeanor, instinctively keeping her distance from Su Xiao.
"Is this person really trustworthy?"
Annie's arrival excited Bertholdt. He had always harbored a secret crush on Annie, but his cowardly personality prevented him from showing it.
"Very... very trustworthy. Annie... have you been doing well lately?"
Bertholdt's speech was somewhat stammering. Annie merely nodded.
Su Xiao, sitting on the Armored Titan's shoulder smoking a cigarette, glanced at Bertholdt, then at Annie.
Su Xiao's emotional intelligence wasn't low. He immediately recognized Bertholdt's admiration for Annie, but he felt the young man had no chance at all. At most, Annie saw him as a comrade.
Using the attitude of pursuing a goddess to pursue a woman would never succeed.
"How long is it going to keep following us?" Annie tilted her fair chin, looking toward the Jaw Titan behind them.
"Our current position isn't safe enough. Reiner, keep going for another ten minutes, then talk to her? I sense she has no hostile intent."
Su Xiao didn't use a commanding tone with Reiner. For now, he and Reiner's group were at most criminal accomplices, with no superior-subordinate relationship.
Blind arrogance would only breed resentment, and it didn't align with Su Xiao's subsequent plans. If he wanted to reach the Marley Empire, his current false identity would collapse once he arrived there.
Reiner thought for a moment, then nodded. Among the three infiltrators, Reiner was the leader.
After continuing for another ten minutes, a village vaguely appeared ahead. It had been attacked by Titans, with many houses collapsed and overgrown with weeds.
The Armored Titan stopped before the village. The Jaw Titan behind them quickly caught up.
The Jaw Titan wasn't suited for long-distance running. As soon as it stopped, it lay flat on the ground like a wild wolf after a frantic chase.
To be safe, Reiner didn't de-Titanize. Su Xiao went forward as the representative to negotiate. Bertholdt lacked resolve, and Annie wasn't good at communication.
Su Xiao jumped down from the Armored Titan's shoulder, holding the Dragon-Slaying Flash as he walked toward the Jaw Titan.
The reason he dared to cooperate with Reiner's group was that he wasn't afraid of any single Titan. Even if all three of them attacked together, he could find an opportunity to escape.
If Su Xiao didn't have his current strength, Reiner and the others wouldn't have easily agreed to cooperate with him. No one wanted to take on a burden.
"De-Titanize."
Su Xiao stood before the Jaw Titan, blade in hand. From the other party's attitude, it seemed they had no hostile intent.
"Ptooey~."
The Jaw Titan first spat out a blonde woman from its mouth. Then the muscles on the back of its neck opened, and a woman wearing Training Corps clothes emerged from the Jaw Titan's body. The Jaw Titan quickly turned to steam.
The woman was about 1.7 meters tall, with wheat-colored skin and a black ponytail.
"Ymir?"
Annie also jumped down from the Armored Titan's shoulder.
"Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt. So it really is you three."
Ymir scanned Su Xiao and the others. She was also a member of the Training Corps, in the same class as Eren.
Su Xiao was startled when he heard the name Ymir, but after a brief recollection, he remembered who this woman was.
This Ymir was a "fake"—not the Ymir who was the Progenitor Titan. This woman had a complicated background, but she wasn't dangerous.
Speaking of this Ymir, one had to go back seventy years.
Seventy years ago, Ymir had no name. She was a little girl wandering in the "Eldian Containment Zone" of the Marley Empire, like a stray kitten, struggling even to find food and shelter.
However, she had one special trait—she was an Eldian.
A local cult organization noticed this and took in the wandering Ymir, naming her Ymir and falsely claiming she was the Progenitor Goddess. They used this to deceive their followers.
Ymir grew up amidst the worship of the cult's believers. When she was in her teens, the cult's base was discovered by the Marley government. Ymir and many believers were arrested.