Utgard Castle (Chapter)

Castle Utgard is the fourth and final chapter of the ninth volume and the 38th chapter overall.

Summary
Connie Springer and the remainder of the Survey Corps stop at Connie's home village on their way to Castle Utgard. There are no corpses, but the horses are still in the stables and the village is full of odd immobile titans. One of them speaks as the group leaves, and Connie mentions that it somehow reminds him of his mother.

Back at Wall Rose, Rico Brzenska and her squad defend against the titans inside the wall. However, troops led by Nanaba and Gerger find no breach in the wall to explain the sudden appearance of the titans. After searching along opposite sides of the wall, they meet in the middle at Castle Utgard, where both units take shelter for the night.

As the night drags on, Krista Lenz begins to speculate on the true nature of the titans' appearance within the wall. Gerger orders everyone to get some rest instead of worrying, saying that they will investigate more in the morning. The topic of conversation shifts to Connie's home village. He uneasily repeats his connection between the immobile titan and his mother, but Reiner Braun quickly dismisses the theory. Ymir immediately begins to mock Connie for his height, and the serious tone of the discussion dissipates.

Later in the night, Reiner comes across Ymir searching for something to eat. He commends her for making Connie drop the subject and requests that she continue so that he doesn't worry about his family. Ymir complains about finding a can of herring and hands the can to Reiner. He examines the can, commenting aloud on Ymir's ability to read the seemingly indecipherable characters on the label.

Just as Ymir turns to confront him, Rene orders everyone up to the roof. The clouds have cleared and the castle is overrun with titans. The Ape Titan passes nearby, heading for the wall, but the troops are forced to focus on the imminent attack on the castle.

Nanaba takes charge and leaps from the tower to fight the titans, accompanied by Gerger, Henning, and Rene (the only other soldiers who have their 3DMG). Unbeknownst to them, Hange Zoë's squad heads towards Castle Utgard just as the battle begins.