Part 23: Chapter 23 (Battle) - Apply Tanks To Burned Area

Update 23 (Battle) - Apply Tanks To Burned Area

WELCOME BACK LET'S SHOOT SOMEONE (with paint)



Thanks, Carter.

So, uh, yeah, we're partway through the Grimm/Sensei fight. Last time, we beat Sensei, and now we just have one front to worry about, with a Tag Power in the back for when we need it. As such, this probably isn't going to be too tough.



That said, I am concerned about Grimm's foot units that keep coming over this god damn river. So I'm deploying Diana to hopefully dissuade them from going after the base.



Von Panzer might be damaged, but he's still got enough strength to take out the last of the foot soldiers. I'm sure Grimm's going to replace them soon enough, given half the chance, though.



At the very least, Felix has captured all of the buildings up here now. He's pretty much finished now, he can just chill out.



Like I said before, Alfonse can still do solid damage through silos, even at 1HP, so I get him to chunk down the infantry headed towards my tanks.



Rin and Dave, our tanks up north, can clean up. Rin first.



Dave takes out the one up here. This might've been Aanisah? I forget.



I decide to get another infantry at the central base, so I deploy Elena. In my head I was thinking that I might steal that airport from Grimm, but, slight spoilers, I never got the chance to.



Still, we've got the advantage for definite. Just need to be careful and not make any stupid mistakes, or have any unexpected trouble.



Yeah... unexpected trouble like a CO Power.



It isn't a SCOP at least, and if I remember correctly, both of Grimm's CO Powers are literally just "hit harder". No extra movement or wacky effects make it less of a problem.



...It's even less of a problem when none of Grimm's more dangerous units are actually in range to attack me. Amazing.



Welp, that was his last hope, really. Let's get on with the crushing, shall we?

Uh, I mean nonlethal defeating.



Whilst the freshly-healed Khepri poses no threat to my tanks, she will take out Alfonse in his weakened state, so we've gotta get rid of her before we move on. Rin can do the job, thankfully!



As Dave rumbles over to take out the other infantry, he hears Khepri and Rin arguing.

"You only hit me twice!"

"Nuh-uh, I hit you three times, I'm sure of it!" Rin says, pulling a face.

Khepri shakes her head. "No, your last shot definitely went wide. Look, there's paint splattered on the ground!"

"That was from the fight with Lowell earlier! You're making this up!"

Elena sighs.

"Ladies, ladies. Allow me to clear this up."



"And how are you going to do that?" Khepri asks. No sooner have the words left her mouth does a shot ring out from the distance, and a huge splodge of paint strikes her recon.

"Whether Rin hit you twice or thrice, I think we can agree... you've definitely been hit three times now." Elena says, Dave's eyes widen.

"Damn, they weren't kiddin' when they said you were a hell of a shot. That was a direct hit!"



Alfonse, meanwhile, can fire off the last of the silos. I decide to spare Vanessa in the artillery - I want to definitely hit Kyril since he's in range to attack my tanks next turn, and a weakened attack might just save my hide.



I also decide it's time to bring in the big guns to defend the river area. Fred should be able to dissuade anyone from coming over!



And that's how we stack up. You'll note on the left, I'm moving Von Panzer north to heal and help out Rin and Dave with cleanup.



Right, Grimm's turn again. Here comes Kyril.



Kyril charges forward. "I have you in my sights, Rin! Take this!"

"You're the famous Kyril, right? Nephew of Kanbei, hero of Yellow Comet?" Rin asks. "I'm delighted to meet you!"

As Kyril lands a direct blow on Rin's tank, Dave sighs.

"Rin, you are fightin' him, y'know. Pay attention, alright?"

"I only took one hit, it's fine! Now we can tag-team him!"

"You better be right about this." Dave replies, shrugging.

That's the only attack that happens, though. I don't think Grimm can deploy anything to actually threaten me now, honestly.



God damn I need to learn when to shut my mouth

Fuck.



That copter is bad fucking news - I have nothing up north that can even scratch it, and it'll probably make a beeline for Alfonse and the tanks. I mean, sure, I'm going to win the battle, but I came this far deathless, and I'll be damned if this copter spoils it for me.

"Perry, are you deploying again?!" Vanessa asks furiously.

"Hell yeah! I got beat way too quickly on the second front! Gimme a chance to fight again!" Peregrine says, turning her copter towards the tanks in the distance.

"That's actually cheating!" Vanessa replies, but eventually she sighs. "Uh, is that OK with you guys?"

"Heh. We like a challenge." Dave says, a relaxed smile on his face. "Besides, we're technically cheating by bringing my dude, the instant win button."

"Yeah, exactly!" Peregrine shouts. "If he's such a fucking big shot, he should be able to handle me no problem, right?!"



Whilst I let my plans for Operation Tell Peregrine To Fuck Right Off percolate, I decide to focus on the lower area. Carter can take out the first infantry trying to invade me...



...and the other one is badly weakened by Fred. He'll be healed a bit from the base, but a) not enough to not die to another rocket attack and b) that sucks up some more of Grimm's dwindling finances, preventing him from deploying more god damn copters.



Von Panzer moves in to back up the tanks, whilst Rin finishes off Kyril.

"There we go!" she cries. "Told you I was focussing, Dave."

"Ah, I'm already done? In that case I'm going to wash my tank off..." Kyril sighs, shaking his head. "Lovely meeting you properly, though, Rin!"

"You too!" Rin says, waving as Kyril drives his tank away.



And we needed to get rid of Kyril, too, because I need a goddamn anti-air. Come on out, Ludmilla.

"Hello, gents. I heard there's a copter that needs grounding. Point me in the right direction, would you?"

"I'd hold your fire for now." Dave mutters, staring up at the skyline.

"Ach! The copter is headed right for us - you must wait until she moves into our range before striking!"

"Gotcha. Just tell me when." Ludmilla replies.



Meanwhile, I need to speed up the beating of this map, so I send Dave in to start getting rid of the dregs.



Aaaand I should move Alfonse to safety before I end my turn.



This is how we're doing. We have enough firepower - the only main threats are Vanessa in the artillery and Peregrine in the copter. Let's see how this works out...



Please be nice, girls. Please.



Down south, where I had Diana capturing things, the infantry are still picking fights with me. It is genuinely a neverending stream of these dipshits for the whole map.



This weakened mech goes for Dave, and gets exploded for their trouble.



And Peregrine... sits right outside of Ludmilla's range. How infuriating.



"Ya think I was going to make it easy for you? Come the fuck on, gents!"

"S'cuse me, we've got some gals down here too." Dave replies. "Rin, Ludmilla, teach her a lesson, would you?"

Ludmilla scowls at the copter hovering out of her reach. "Dave, I would if I could. This one's not playing ball."



So, someone's going to take a hit from Peregrine. All I need to do is figure out how to shuffle these guys around so that nobody dies from that. First, I move Alfonse all the way south. He'll die - well, have to retreat - if anyone so much as coughs on him, so I've got to make sure he's definitely out of her range.



Elena moves up to capture something. Hopefully Peregrine will prioritise attacking a capturing infantry over anything else? That's how it worked in AW2, if I remember correctly.



And then I arrange the rest of the crew like this - a defensive wall that protects Alfonse. Important note: Rin, the weaker tank, is on the silo which provides 3 defence stars, whilst Von Panzer, the full-HP tank, is on the bridge with no defence stars. And of course Ludmilla can sit on the bridge because no sane copter would initiate on an anti-air.



Meanwhile, Dave reaches the southernmost part of the map and engages Vanessa.

"Can't attack me at close range, can you?" Dave says, firing off paint from his tank cannon. Vanessa shakes her head.

"No, I fear we're on the verge of being overrun. But if you think everyone's getting out of this unscathed, you've got another thing coming!"



And Grimm is spawning even more godforsaken infantry, so Fred rockets it to teach him a lesson.



Diana's chip damage from the infantry that attacked her last time was just enough to prevent her from finishing this capture. I don't, like, need this building or anything though, so I'm not too concerned.



So. Moment of truth. Is Peregrine going to take someone out?



I accounted for everything. I think. Grimm doesn't hit that hard, right?



She has chosen Von Panzer. Rookie mistake, there - as you all know, Von Panzer does not fucking die.

"Take this, moustache!" Peregrine yells, firing off paint from her copter. "Here's a taste of Yellow Comet aerial support!"



"Harrumph! I barely felt it." Von Panzer replies, his steely gaze looking up at the copter above him. "You'll have to try harder than that, ja?"



And now that Peregrine's been safely lured to land, we can take her out no problem.



Rin and Von Panzer have taken some hefty hits of paint though, so I join them up to increase their efficiency somewhat. And... hang on, looking at this...



I think I've got just enough firepower to rout the map, looking at this. Let's see what we can do! First, Ludmilla finishes Peregrine.

"Alright, you've been knocked out for good, now!" Ludmilla says. "Now be a good girl and don't come back, OK?"

"Damn it, didn't get anyone again? My dude really is good, huh?" Peregrine sighs. "Just wanted to cover someone in tons of paint..."



Carter can chunk this infantry all the way to not alive.



Fred can do the same to the infantry just hanging around over here, dunking him in paint from afar.



...Now let's see it. Let's see the might of the Tag Power!



You're always serious, you lunatic. I've never heard you make a joke.



Max and Rachel, that's a fun combination. We're going to do so much god damn damage.



For the sake of brevity, I skipped it, but we struck the foot units twice, bringing them to 4HP, and Vanessa/the tank once.



Dave attacks Vanessa again, but crucially, from this tile instead of the one on the right. It should be evident why.



fuck it, might as well capture something in the middle of all this



Damn, Max. Going all out, aren't we?



So yeah, once we're done with Rachel's turn, we swap to Max and...



Holy fucking shit I get to take a second turn. This is the best thing.

So yeah, Ludmilla shreds the infantry over here...



Whilst Dave does the same here. And that tank on a base? You might think it's a problem, but...



...Yeah, Grimm's lower defences combined with a Max SCOP... Rin and Von Panzer kind of obliterate it. With that, we're done!



Hah ha! We were defeated fair and square. Score one for the young 'uns.

So, Grimm, this means you'll be fighting with us now, right? Under my command?

I gave my word, didn't I? And the way you mowed us down? I'm happy to! Listen up, people! Lightning Grimm is one of yours now! Let's go find Black Hole's COs and make their mugs even uglier!

He certainly is full of steam. I have a feeling he's the life of the party.

You did good, Rachel! And your ACO is the real deal--I’m impressed!

Well, I AM the best strategist in the world.

Gwar har har! You know, that’s funny.

What’s funny?

Well, we’ve got an ACO with us, and people say the exact same thing about her.

!

I’m here! Forgive me for not partaking in this battle myself. Commander Grimm, please allow me to take to the field!

There you are! Rose Kuroda, the Desolate Flower!

Hey, and here she is, speak of the devil! Sensei says this little madam’s one of the biggest strategic geniuses on the planet. And it sounds like you’re anxious to test yourself against this ‘my dude’, is that right?

Please, Commander Grimm. You’ve seen how the COs stack up against you. Now allow me to test myself against my dude before we continue. I’ll never get another opportunity like this.

You can’t argue with that, can you now?

Gwar har har! No, I can’t! Rachel, whaddya say to testing out our ACOs against one another?

Hm, that sounds interesting. Why not? It’d be a good chance to see what my dude can do.

We COs can take a back seat then, hm? We’ll let the ACOs play for a while, and then we can find Black Hole.

You said it! I’m looking forward to seeing these two clash!

My dude, you and Rose have never fought on opposite sides before, right?

Nope. This is… new. Alright, well, I guess everyone’s ready. Let’s do this, Rose.

I’ll make my preparations. See you on the battlefield, my dude.



So, yes, we won, but we're not quite done yet. We'll be taking on Rose Kuroda next, in the Hard Campaign version of this mission, before we move on.



And it seems like these two are eager to see it happen. Who's next, you ask? Rose fucking Kuroda, Rachel. That's who.



The next day, once everyone's cleaned all the paint off of their vehicles, we begin anew. So let's get started.



Well, my dude, our resources are yours. I want to see what you’re really capable of.

‘Course. Gonna be fine. I beat you pretty handily in that first mission, didn’t I?

Are you seriously making fun of me NOW?

Yup. Gonna make fun of everyone. Partly because you’re all nerds. But also because that distracts me from the fact that I have to fight Rose Kuroda and I am absolutely fucking terrified.

You’re… scared?

I’ve never seen you look so determined, my dude. You gonna be alright?



So, you’re serious about this?

I have to try. I have to know.

All the decisions out there will be yours, Rose. You’ve got the know-how to take my dude on.

Thank you, Sensei. You’ve taught me a lot…I’ll do my best.

Hey, Rose. You feeling up to this?

*

I’ve fought with my dude long enough to know and fear his strength.

I’ve fought with Rose long enough to know and fear her strength.

This battle isn’t going to be easy. But I have to know. Which of us is stronger?



And so, we see the battlefield. Not an easy one, not at all... two fronts, headed by Grimm and Sensei Rose. And so many units, my god.



Only one CO to choose for this battle, obviously. I'll be taking care of things.

So, he’s taking full control? Whose CO benefits is he using, then?

His own, apparently. I’ve heard they’re very similar to Jess’ strengths--his artilleries and medium tanks are particularly powerful.

Correct, I’m a vehicle specialist, primarily. _{Bombers, too. Love a good bomber.}

But doesn’t Rose specialise in battle copters and medium tanks? That’s not a favourable match-up against medium tanks and artilleries.

I’ve fought predeployed Kanbei. I’ve fought Sonja in Fog of War. I’ve battled Drake on the ocean and Eagle in the sky. Trust me - an unfavourable matchup is where I do my best work.

Confident, aren’t you? Good luck, my dude.

I look way more confident than I feel, I can promise you. But… thanks. I’m gonna need that luck.

Next time: my dude vs Rose Kuroda.

Place your bets.

***

Update 24 (Intermission) - Yellow Reunion