Quagmire Underfoot

Quagmire Underfoot (霖雨の大地) is the 3rd chapter of the 16th volume and the 59th chapter overall of the Attack on Titan: Before the Fall manga, written by Ryō Suzukaze and illustrated by Satoshi Shiki.

Overview
As the Survey Corps begin the expedition, Jorge reveals that this expedition has two ultimate goals: to test the vertical maneuvering equipment against Titans and to produce maps of the area so the Survey Corps can one day track where the Titans ultimately come from. As the rear teams recuperate, Kuklo and Rosa notice a signal flare from up ahead signaling the presence of Titans; however, the rain begins to fall once again as soon as the flare is sent, causing the smoke to disappear.

Summary
The citizens watch the Survey Corps soldiers ride out beyond the Walls. As they begin to disperse, Fuchs stays behind and says farewell to Xavi.

Atop the Wall, Sharle, Angel, Maria and Jorge watch the soldiers leave as well. Angel inquires to Maria if she regrets allowing Rosa to go on the expedition; she muses that she will always be worried about her child but is proud and glad to see that Rosa is finding the person she is meant to be. When asked by Sharle, Jorge reveals that the expedition is two-fold: to test the vertical maneuvering equipment as well as to map out the area outside the Walls in an effort to discover where the Titans ultimately come from. She expresses shock when hearing only ten kilometers have been mapped so far, but Jorge merely hopes that the deaths of the soldiers who produced the results they have will not be in vain. Angel assures him to trust in the Survey Corps to succeed. As the others leave Jorge alone with his thoughts, Sharle looks up and notices several rain drops beginning to fall.

On the ground, Kuklo and Cardina express some concern about the terrain still being poor. Up front, Xavi asks Carlo if he will be sending out scouts due to not seeing any Titan activity thus far; Carlo dismisses it as a risk they are unable to take with the limited number of soldiers they have. Reaching the first marker, an oasis 5 kilometers beyond the Wall, they stop to recuperate. Rosa gives teams nine and ten thirty minutes while the others continue on ahead.

As they get ready to continue on, Kuklo notices a red signal flare, signaling the presence of Titans nearby. They ride towards the direction of the flare but the rain returns almost immediately. Eventually the rain causes the smoke from the flare to disappear, causing the soldiers to realize they have lost their bearing and scramble to locate the direction they need to go.