Part 35: Chapter 17b: The First Rain of May - Part 2

Last time, we found ourselves assaulting Lenster's walls. Blocking our path is a fuck ton of ballistas, hidden behind Lenster's gates, as well as Amalda.



Here's what we have to deal with today. Not many enemies, but the only way to reach to throne involves walking through a gauntlet of unreachable ballistas. We can either take them out somehow, or just tank the hits.





Alright, let's go. We have a pretty huge roster today, we brought Olwen, Karin, Nanna, Seram, Marty, Linoan, Carion, Fergus Lara, Asvel, Havan, Othin, Fin, Ronan and Shanam. Maybe half of them might even get to do something .



Onwards!





Marty shrugs off the Sniper's Silver Bow.





Seram nets the kill with a wind tome I found buried somewhere in my supply.



Fergus takes a hit, everyone else ends up fine.



[Seram: Lv. 17, Hp: 31, Str: 1, Mgc: 15, Skl: 13, Spd: 15, Luk: 5, Def: 3, Bld: 4] Wait a minute that's not right. That's good.



I'd like to capture the Snipers, but between the forests and naturally decent evade, it doesn't look that likely.



That's about what I was expecting.



Between a couple of characters, we manage to whittle one down to the point where Marty can capture him.

[Marty: Lv. 6, Hp: 57, Str: 19, Mgc: 7, Skl: 11, Spd: 19, Luk: 16, Def: 20, Bld: 20] I like how Marty consistently gets okay level ups. His growths are complete shit, and I never give him any scrolls, but he always seems to get around 3 stats per level. Also, fuck, using Marty is still bizarre as hell.



This guy has to die now, on account of me forgetting that most Pegasus Knights dislike being shot out of the air.



[Seram: Lv. 18, Hp: 32, Str: 2, Mgc: 15, Skl: 13, Spd: 16, Luk: 6, Def: 4, Bld 5] Oh god what. Now that you're getting good levels, where will all the bad luck go?



Three units break from the rest of my forces and move forward - Karin, Nanna, and Fergus. They're my crack team, assembled to take care of those fucking ballistas. Fergus has the King Sword, so Karin is getting +30 avoid (2 charismas, support bonus), Fergus is getting +20 avoid (Charisma and support bonus) and Nanna is just getting +10, but she has really good luck and speed so Fergus is actually has the least evade. Anyways, the ballistas have a one percent chance of hitting Karin, around a 7% chance of hitting Nanna, and an 11% chance of hitting Fergus. They'll go for Fergus or Nanna over Karin, which is good, because that 1% minimum is the worst god damn thing.



First though, a warm up.





And they're all dead.



See that axe armor in the bottom left? Well don't get attached, Karin kills him.



Nanna takes a hit, which is unfortunate. She can heal, so I was hoping they'd go for Fergus and his lower evade.



Our A-team has attracted the attention of some soldiers. Will they throw a wrench in our plans? _no



wheee



Linoan casts psychic on Nanna. This is enough to bring her up to a B in staves, meaning she'll have an A upon promotion .



She got hit twice with a 7% chance. She also gets an empty level. This is just not her day.



Between Seram and Linoan we heal Nanna back up to full health.



Nanna equips the wind sword we pilfered last chapter, gaining an extra 10 avoid. The ballistas should default to attacking Fergus now. She also hides behind Fergus and Karin so as not to waste her sword's uses on the trash mobs.











[Fergus: Lv. 6, Hp: 39, Str: 19, Mgc: 4, Skl: 17, Spd: 15, Luk: 16, Def: 13, Bld: 12] He probably needs defense more than anything else, so I'm alright with this.



[Karin: Lv. 6, Hp: 38, Str: 16, Mgc: 13, Skl: 15, Spd: 20, Luk: 20, Def: 12, Bld: 9] More defense



[Nanna: Lv. 7, Hp: 33, Str: 15, Mgc: 12, Skl: 17, Spd: 20, Luk: 20, Def: 11, Bld: 8] Ah well, she's still doing fantastic.



And with that, we've taken care of all the ballistas, except for one we forgot near the beginning.



There we are.



With the ballistas dead, the rest of our forces are free to make their way to the gate.





[Seram: Lv. 19, Hp: 32, Str: 2, Mgc: 16, Skl: 14, Spd: 17, Luk: 6, Def: 5, Bld: 5] Seram, good level up, surprise, you know the drill.



Next, the scrolls are passed over to Linoan, and we let her have her time to shine.



[Linoan: Lv. 13, Hp: 25, Str: 2, Mgc: 11, Skl: 13, Spd: 16, Luk: 16, Def: 4, Bld: 4] Well that's just fantastic.

On the same turn, Carion moves through the gate, into Lenster's walls.





You know how I mentioned that we needed the sleep staff to recruit a character? Well that's not on this route, so we can go wild.





Othin's going to hold the gate.



A couple of dodged javelins later, and we end up looking like this.



[Linoan: Lv. 14, Hp: 25, Str: 2, Mgc: 12, Skl: 12, Spd: 17, Luk: 17, Def: 4, Bld: 4] I forgot to hand her off the scrolls this level, so with that in mind it's pretty good.



We then rescue her, and bring her back to safety. With Lara's help, we're going to repeat the process to get her some levels.



[Linoan: Lv. 15, Hp: 26, Str: 2, Mgc: 13, Skl: 14, Spd: 17, Luk: 17, Def: 4, Bld: 4] Meh, not great.



[Linoan: Lv. 16, Hp: 27, Str: 2, Mgc: 14, Skl: 14, Spd: 18, Luk: 17, Def: 5, Bld: 4] Better.



[Linoan: Lv. 17, Hp: 28, Str: 2, Mgc: 15, Skl: 15, Spd: 18, Luk: 18, Def: 5, Bld: 5] Worse.

Anyways, with that, we've killed all the cavaliers.







To the victors go the spoils.





Hey, don't give me that. You could have joined us any time. We're pretty cool. They don't call it the Marty Party for nothing.



I'd like to capture the boss if possible. Seram's going to pelt him with thunder from a distance, until Carion can finish him with an Armorslayer. Seram manages to miss 8 times in a row with a 59% chance, but eventually weakens him enough that Carion can do this.



The math just doesn't work out. The boss has some vulneraries, so we may be here for a while.





Eventually Seram gets a critical, letting Carion finish him.

[Carion: Lv. 3, Hp: 46, Str: 18, Mgc: 7, Skl: 20, Spd: 20, Luk: 15, Def: 16, Bld: 14] God damn, I'd forgotten how good Carion is.











He's at level 19 with 93 exp, this is more for the level than anything.

[Seram: Lv. 20, Hp: 33, Str: 2, Mgc: 17, Skl: 14, Spd: 18, Luk: 7, Def: 5, Bld: 5]

Now that he's hit level twenty, it's promotion time







... At least the robes aren't white.



Anyways, let's deal with the villages now.







[Olwen: Lv. 5, Hp: 27, Str: 8, Mgc: 12, Skl: 14, Spd: 13, Luk: 7, Def: 8, Bld: 6] Well isn't that just a near perfect level.

The nearby arch knight then attacks Carion.

[Carion: Lv. 4, Hp: 47, Str: 18, Mgc: 7, Skl: 20, Spd: 20, Luk: 15, Def: 17, Bld: 14]



Olwen then kills the arch knight.





We ferry Shanam over, and have him buy a couple of fire tomes at half price. I sold all of our Yotsumungand tomes and near broken weapons before the map, so we have around 15000 gold. Fire is the only tome they're selling.

The armory has a couple of different bows, as well as Silver Axes. I pay the iron price for my silver weapons (Silver weapons are expensive and don't have many uses.)

Next, Leaf visits one of the villages.

---





Village Elder...I'm sorry for the long wait and difficult times. It's all right now, though. Starting now, the knights of Lenster will devote their full energy to the castle's recapture. Please, wish for our victory.
Prince, I have a favor to ask...We would also like to assist you in your advance on the castle.
Assist us...You mean the villagers are going to fight?
Yes...We have put up with the Empire's harsh treatment until now. However, we have gathered strength in secret for the day Lenster would be liberated.



However, we will be the Prince's shield to the best of our abilities. We will attract the ballistae, and in that time, the Prince can capture the castle...
Don't be a fool! What would be the point of victory if we lost you!? I won't approve it!
Prince Leaf...In all these years past, we've seen all the difficult times through. All of the children were taken by the Empire, and all of the already suffering women were taken into custody by Gustav. Because we opposed that brutal treatment, our families were killed as well. However, Prince...The one thing we cannot live with is our country being lost. If you regain the land, even if it means our lives, we will always be behind you. Whatever might happen, we have no regrets.



They talk exactly like knights - with a quiet but absolute fidelity to the death. Even their feelings for their children could not break that trust.
...August, are you saying you would take their help!?
That is one way of putting it.



What is your decision, Prince Leaf?

Well, seeing as how we already killed everyone, I don't see the harm. Join us peasants

---



A bunch of NPCs emerge from all the villages.



They weren't lying when they said they'd die. They kind of suck. Anyways, the reason I didn't use these guys as bait was because you get a Knight's proof if you either don't accept their help, or keep them all alive if you do.

We could also visit the house on the cliff in the bottom left with Karin. Imagine we had 20000 gold.

---









So yeah, we can open the closed gate if we pay 20000 gold. Not really worth it in my opinion, it's not that hard to deal with the map the "hard" way.

---

With that done, we seize the throne, finishing the map.

---





He has been a problematic man, in more ways than one.
Count Gustav... He has been in charge of Lenster this past decade and made the people suffer like no other...
Yes. He isn't much as a commander, but he uses his wealth to outfit his troops with the best gear. He may be tougher than we think.
Anything else?
Yes, another issue is General Xavier. He is a fine warrior, and his army of heavy infantry will prove to be a problem as well.

Oh god, no. Not Xavier. Please no. It always comes so soon.



Dorias? Do you know him?
Yes... Xavier was once a general of Lenster. He was a loyal man respected by many, but once Lenster fell, he betrayed us and switched sides like the back of his hand! I can't forgive him! I will kill that shameless man myself!



No. General Xavier joined the Empire against his will to protect us. After Lenster fell, we commoners were left abandoned in the hands of the enemy. General Xavier felt sorry and sacrificed his honor to rescue us. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be alive now.
Really? Is that true? Then why is still staying in their ranks even after the prince has returned? If he led a rebellion with his army, he should be able to take the castle with ease...
Well... General Xavier had eight of his lieutenants with which he shared his suffering, but the lieutenants' wives and children have been taken hostage in the castle.



I like Dorias's idea. Let's just kill him. Please?

But it won't be so easy...
I have to apologize to him. I have to apologize to him as the only remaining heir of Lenster!

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Current Resets: 41 42 (I forgot that Snipers kill Peg. Knights )

Next time on Thracia 776: Never listen to Dorias. Fuck Dorias.