The Female Titan

Armin, the sole survivor of his group, cannot outrun the Female Titan. She swats him from his horse, then does something no Titan should: she peels back the hood of his cloak, studies his face, and walks on without harming him. Reiner finds him still frozen in place, and as they ride in pursuit Armin lays out his theory. This is no abnormal; the deliberate movements, the killing without eating, the face check all point to a person who transforms the way Eren does. Jean joins them and fires the warning signal, and the trio soon discover their right flank's lookouts have been wiped out, the Female Titan having steered a pack of fast Titans directly into the formation.

Comparing notes, the three realize each of them was told a different location for Eren, and Armin suspects Erwin seeded false information deliberately. Reasoning that the Survey Corps would keep its most valuable asset in the safest position, Armin places Eren near the formation's center. With no way to communicate the true nature of the threat, Jean argues they must slow her down themselves until a retreat order can spread. Armin's rules for the attempt: hoods up, because a hunter searching for a specific face will hesitate to kill what she cannot identify.

The delaying action nearly kills all three. She flings Armin's horse skyward and sends him tumbling, his gear knocked loose; Jean's dive at her nape meets an instantaneous guard, leaving him exposed midair. Armin saves him with a lie, screaming that Jean must avenge the "suicidal blockhead" she trampled somewhere in the formation. The words stop her cold, buying Jean his escape. Reiner then launches himself at her head and vanishes into her closing fist; what looks like his death turns out to be his blades carving through her fingers as he cuts himself free, grabs Armin, and runs. Her hand regenerates and she abandons them, and Reiner reads it as flight until Armin registers her new heading: the center of the formation, straight toward Eren.

The Female Titan checks Armin's face beneath his hood and spares him, proving her intelligence.

Armin deduces that she is a human transformer like Eren, and that she is hunting him specifically.

The trio learn Eren's stated position differed in each of their briefings, hinting at deliberate misinformation from Erwin.

Jean's strike is countered when she guards her nape, and Armin's improvised lie about Eren's death freezes her long enough for Jean to escape.

Reiner cuts his way out of her grip, and the Female Titan races toward the formation's center.

The Female Titan opens volume 6 as the 23rd chapter overall, written and drawn by Hajime Isayama. It was published in Japan on July 9, 2011, and in English on August 27, 2013, launching The Female Titan arc. The anime adapts it in Female Titan: The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, Part 1, and it sits between Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation and The Titan Forest.

The pre-volume printing titled the chapter with slightly different Japanese, 女型巨人, omitting a particle without changing the meaning. The volume also carries a Currently Publicly Available Information page describing a unique yeast produced behind Wall Sheena that dramatically slows food decomposition, stockpiled as part of the plan to retake Wall Maria.