Part 43: Golden Poem - Counterattack

Counterattack


Golden Poem Stage 2

So while it may not look like it at first, you're gonna have quite the fight on your hands. Firstly, note both Nameless' comment and the keys surrounding by that big square Sector on the top of the screen. That's where Medusa is hanging out, and there's no way to relieve Gawain without going through her. Gawain himself is in the small Sector beneath the circular one, and will quickly be getting into a fight with Karna.

For more immediate concerns, the half of the map we're on has one Sector under attack, and another controlled by the enemy, and a third with a Plant in it. You're not super pressed for time if you want to keep Gawain around, but you do have to hustle.

Shortly after the stage starts...














...Berserker! The territory's overlord shows himself. I may have a few scratches, but none of them are grave. I shall settle this here!

The result of this scene will be Gawain will have suffered some injuries and consequently, is not able to draw out his full power, even though he forced Lu Bu to retreat. My advice for starting out is to quickly re-take control of the conflict Sector, then take out the enemy Plant. The Plant Sector has a ton of bomb enemies in it, and trust me, those little suckers can really pile the damage on if they swarm you with bombs.



Once you've taken over what you'll take over (note that Plant at the bottom of the map. That's gonna give you a lot of headaches if you let it hang around for a while), head on over to Medusa's Sector, as there's no other route to Gawain and you can't finish the Regime Matrix without going through her. My plan for Medusa would be to go all-out against her, and just wrap the fight up as fast as possible. She can be pretty dangerous, of course, but you don't have time to hold back.

Also take note that Medusa will be joined by a couple of large Aggressors, which can pretty heavily limit your movement area, but Regalia laughs in the face of such danger.



When you're ready to help out the Knight of Midheaven, take note your enemy is powered up and will only stagger from triangle-based attacks. In addition, as you can see, there's also a ton of bomb guys (these guys always come in big packs), and more large Aggressors. This can be a pretty tough Sector, but Nero's fast enough over Karna to give you more than a fighting chance.

The good news is an EM will largely clear out bomb dudes. That's your best best for getting rid of this substantial annoyance.



Once you've dealt enough damage, Karna will pull back, but he's far from done here. He'll go to a random blue Sector and begin attacking, at full health. Personally, while I didn't do it, I'd focus on taking out the enemy Plant at the bottom of the map to going after Karna, but the choice is yours.



Tamamo's Regalia is better in most every way gameplay-wise, but there remains something so viscerally satisfying as punching the shit out of things. Fun fact, when I was having to replay Orchid Words, I was on the second-to-last stage, and I fought Dark Eliza again. Regalia Tamamo's aerial attack killed her in three hits. From full health to zero, in three hits. That move is *so* overpowered.



Well, Karna's down, but this fight is far from over. Joy.



But it's not that much of a grind once all or most of the Plants are destroyed. Mop up operation time.



Once you've drawn out Lu Bu, be very careful of him. Because of the long nature of this stage, you've likely taken a lump here or there, and Lu Bu can easily pile on enough to knock you out of EX rank. Part of the reason he's so dangerous is because his attacks are very staggered out. He's not very fast, but his attacks are so deceivingly slow that you think he's done attacking, then as you rush into attack, he'll swat you away with a powerful strike. Incidentally, this particular Sector (as well as the Sector Gawain started in) are the worst areas to fight Lu Bu. Not a lot of room to maneuver, and against a guy this powerful, with this long a reach on his halberd, that is a recipe for trouble. Will I run into that trouble?

I used my Noble Phantasm here because it'll do some nice damage to the ogre, and I've got a whole mess of Aggressors to nuke, too. Just for the record, Noble Phantasm's don't *have* range. They'll damage or kill every single enemy currently active in a Sector. I should also bring up that unless an enemy Servant is native to a Sector, they don't count as an Aggressor to take out in order to take over the Sector.



To demonstrate another gameplay mechanic, I decided to use all three of my Command Spells at once to power-up Nero. When you've powered up your dude, they'll be encased in lightning (as we've seen with powered up enemies before), and their HP / EM will be filled to max, as in, the highest possible amount both gauges can reach. It's only for a limited time (the Command Spell icon indicates how much time there's left), but trust me, it lasts for a *very* long time.

However, unlike our powered-up adversaries thus far, you'll still get staggered from regular attacks. But you also will get a pretty sizable boost in defense to go along with it. I have no idea if attack is effected. Using this option is basically for when you want that last gasp of firepower to end the stage. Obviously, the big trade-off with doing this is that if you're KO'd after powering up, that's it for you. The stage is over.



Lu Bu's most dangerous attack here is throwing his spear in a straight line. Together with his regular attacks, this can be really deadly, and not particularly easy to see coming. What happens is that the spear itself will do damage, but if it throws you back far enough, you'll get caught in the explosion caused by the spear landing.



Only got hit with the spear twice, and it was mostly due to fighting him on annoyingly unequal ground. Let's see how I shook out...



Damn, took just a little too much damage. Well, I suppose the circle of karma must close eventually, for all those times I came in just UNDER the wire.



He was a very powerful Servant. Only Saber's strength and our good luck got us through that fight. Saber fights without a single doubt in her mind. Just like back in the Moon's Holy Grail War. She never wavers in her purpose. She and I are on the path to that purpose together. The two of us can conquer any obstacle in our way. We'll save everyone we can, and fight anyone we have to. Most of all... I want to save Altera, like the Body of mine wanted to before me.



I've confirmed that everything is silent on Lu Bu's end. There is probably damage to his Spirit Core as well. It's imposisble for him to fight any longer.



...Amazing that you would beat Berserker. The Regalia makes you a threat worth considering. Nothing to be done about it. I'll withdraw for now.

Why not come over to our side, Rider? You may be an Anti-Hero, but no one in Rome would object to that. For that matter, even I might be...no, let us not speak of such things. What say you, Rider? With your beauty, I could even place you in charge of one of my harems.

...Wait. Harems? What?

Seriously. Nero's been cheating on us?

Oh, um, well, think not that I... I was going to ask for your approval, and truly, it would be for the both of us... *sigh* This is all a misunderstanding...

As Servants go, Emperor of Roses, you are highly amusing. Hilarious, even. You and your Master both. I'll decline your offer for now. All I wish for is peace in the new SE.RA.PH. I'm not interested in anything else.

Peace, you say. It's a wonderful word. I love it just as you do. Let me ask you this, Rider: Do you consider that vixen a Queen? Do you believe SHE will bring peace?

...I've leave that to your imagination. But if she turns out to be a foolish ruler, I could always let her unite SE.RA.PH, then assassinate her.

...Hm. I can't very well praise your methods, but neither will I judge them. Remember even if there is peace in the land, that does mean there is peace on the throne. Often just the opposite. Especially if the ruler is unfit. I sense a hint of sympathy in you, Rider. Have you not yet pledged your fealty to Caster? Are you waiting to see if she can meet your standards as a ruler?

I have no idea what you're talking about. And don't bother trying to change my mind. I'm a cynic. It's my nature.

Perhaps I can change your mind regardless of your nature. It seems you care most about who is the best qualified ruler. Then rest easy, Rider. I promise you, there will be peace on the Moon no matter what. There is nothing my Praetor and I cannot accomplish. Not even an evil star from a distant galaxy can stop us!

Evil star...? I can't say I understand that, but if I could believe you, this would all be so much easier... *teleports out, taking Lu Bu with her*

...Rider disappears, leaving us with those words. I realize that Berserker is gone as well. Caster's Regalia must have pulled him back. It would be useful if we could do something like that ourselves, but unfortunately I have no idea how that would work. Caster seems to grasp the functions of the Regalia much more than we do, maybe because of her class. That might also be how she controls her army so easily.

The intelligence of Casters does seem, in general, higher than the other classes, which is how a lot of figures famed for their genius (Archimedes, Avicebron, Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Mozart, Charles Babbage, etc.) end up in that class, but these are not hard and fast rules. Nikola Tesla is an Archer, for example.

But first and foremost, I'm glad Saber is safe. With Berserker defeated, we've managed to take this whole territory back. All that's left is...



I think we're all right. If he wanted to fight, he'd already have burned us to ashes. Since he hasn't done that, I assume he's here to talk.

Saber and her Master. I understand you wish to speak with our Queen. But she is a shrewd woman, and she has no intentions of allowing you close enough to negotiate. Only highly skilled combatants have any chance of reaching her.

What...?



"Level", you say... How nostalgic.

I confess I can't say I know what Karna is referring to. Possibly his original CCC appearance, but that's only a very murky guess from me.

Edit: he's referring to his old Master's habit of talking about everything in video game / otaku terms. So "level" in the same sense of "leveling up", to make things clearer.

Is that some kind of technical term? What on Earth are you talking about, Karna?

No. It's nothing. I have no complaints about you. I'll give you the coordinates of the Queen's Millennium Capital. These soulless armies stood no chance against you. Do your best to bring Caster to the negotiating table. Whether you can manage that is up to you two. The Queen today is not the Blue Caster you may recall. She has the same power as you, Maiden of Roses. ...She calls herself the Regal Caster now.

...So she's changed her class, has she? How interesting.

One more thing. There's someone identical to you at the Queen's side. Someone with the same name and face as you. That... You're...not at all surprised. You know what I'm saying.

*nod*

Then go forth. I will stand watch from here, and observe your words and deeds.

Hmph. So you would not consider joining me either. That damned Caster, how has she been blessed with such wonderful vassals?



How indeed.