Part 78: Ruthless Warrior of the Turbulent Times - Lu Bu - Part 3

Lu Bu 3



It's certainly more...cartoony than his Black Bushin Super Skeleton getup, but that's part of the fun, right? Fengxian's final stage is based on Orchid Words 4, the one with the super-powered Altera and Gilgamesh as a final battle, so uh, pack well. It's the last time we'll be seeing this stage, and it certainly goes out with a bang.


Lu Bu stage 3

And so...there is no Middle Kingdom without the Great General Lu Bu Fengxian! Show me the loyalty that rests in your heart!



His portrait in this costume needs to be seen.

Right, let me tell you about our next campaign. A new faction called the Forces of Destruction appeared, following the Saber armies, while Lu Bu was asleep. The Umbral Star Velber...the wicked star of misfortune. The Armies, and even that gaudy golden Hero, gather under that star. The Saber army is nothing compared to them. These abominations are prancing around SE.RA.PH like they own the place and wrecking everything they see! And they're headed toward the Millennium Capital. So please, Lu Bu, tell me you'll lend me your strength!

▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅--!! (You are lucky there are stronger foes than you ahead of me. I will destroy them first and save you for last.)

You know, a part of me wishes this final stage was totally different, and we pulled a complete Lu Bu and betrayed Tamamo and her army, as Lu Bu storms the Millennium Capital and destroys Tamamo's Servants and army and her faction losing their shit. That would have been pretty funny, I think.

Ah! Even more than before! All full of fighting spirit again, aren't you, Lu Bu? It's all so inspiring! It's as if you've just awoken and you only heard half the story, and yet your loyalty knows no bounds... You truly are the greatest of all generals. How fitting that a wonderful Queen should be blessed with such wonderful vassals. We're like the stars and the Moon, the symphony of Heaven and Earth.

...Hey Karna, Rider? Does that look like "loyalty" to you? I think he actually looks kinda pissed. I mean, I get the "fighting spirit" part, but...

I know what you mean. But maybe all his extremes place him in a kind of inner balance.

...I really don't think that's how it works.

▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅--!! (Fox, I will serve you up after this battle.)

Oh my, Lu Bu is the best! I mean, the close-close-close-close second best, right after Master!



So like I said, his S S S S T move becomes much more potent once he has all his special moves. After the initial swinging around, instead of ending his combo with a roar he'll jump into the air and slam his weapon and body down with such force it throws up a whole field of, well, I wouldn't necessarily call them stalagmites, but close enough. You get the picture. It covers a huge area in front of him, and remember the rule for this game's' AoE attacks: if one part of the attack hits you, the whole thing does. Not many better crowd pleasers in this game, that's for sure.



So, my strategy for this stage. Let it never be said I don't try to be thematically appropriate (when the occasion suits me), so I wanted to completely ignore any and all larger strategy proposed by my good buddy Karna and charge right into the jaws of the enemy attack, the ongoing melee between Tamamo and Altera. Unfortunately, this is a really bad strategy for this particular stage, for many reasons, not least of which is speed. Since there's so many invasions and general unpleasantness going on in this stage at basically all stages, you really can't afford any costly delays, and this is just that.

But, again, ignoring larger tactics and strategy. Well, if you wanna go after Altera, you're gonna have to go at her with everything you got. Once I used the first Sector to build up Lu Bu's Moon Drive gauge a bit, I immediately used all Command Spells to give the general a huge boost to attack, health, and defense, which gives me a fighting chance between a very dangerous opponent and myself, while making the most of the admittedly limited time we have.



Unfortunately, Lu Bu is kinda a poor matchup here, because Altera does not give a single solitary damn what you do in terms of staggering her, and doesn't really care at all about Tamamo's presence, at least while you're around. In addition, most of Lu Bu's best moves pretty much rely on being able to stagger and juggle enemies, and again, she doesn't really care about all that. Without using a Moon Drive, you're pretty much stuck harassing her with normal attacks and getting off a special ranged attack (S S S T being your best best, of course) whenever you feel you have the room. And, naturally, using EMs.



Once you've built up a Moon Drive, fire it off and get ready to pile on as much damage as possible. Once Iskandar conquers his initial Sector, that's your cue to go all-out, because if Iskandar conquers his next Sector, you lose. Lu Bu's Moon Drive is appropriately devastating, but you do have to watch what you're doing, because most of The Bu's specials only hit in front of him, and it can be difficult to aim properly when Altera's swooping all over the place.

And of course, once the first Moon Drive ends, another begins, thanks to my Mystic Code. This is pretty much mandatory if you want to finish this fight in any reasonable length of time. The reason I didn't use a Moon Drive as soon as I got here, is because the Code Cast activating a Moon Drive does activate one, but it also drains all the Moon Drive gauge you've built up so far, so our time in the first Sector would have been otherwise entirely wasted.



You have to finish her at this stage if you want to survive. Luckily I did. Before starting this stage, I knew I had to use the Heroic Spirit Slayer Install Skill to accomplish this. This skill significantly ups your damage against all Servants in the game. There is of course an equivalent that cuts damage from enemy Heroic Spirits that I used on Jeanne, I think. As befitting her Ruler status, understand. Our reward for beating up Altera, aside from having one less enemy Servant knocking at our door?



No... I can't... I think... I can't...

GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

That was quite an intense duel, even for me... But well done. You've earned my respect, Caster.

No respect from this bunch, I tell ya, no respect. At least Lu Bu used Roman characters for speaking for once in his life. Now to clean up the mess based on our self-indulgence. I actually don't know if that Tamamo line is from damage or what would naturally pop up after beating Super Altera, but it seemed fitting either way.



So why am I menacing this bunch instead of Jeanne or Iskandar? Well, as I learned from painful experience, Tamamo has taken a ton of damage. If an enemy invades her Sector while we're in this vulnerable state, we're in big trouble from being beaten via the Regime Matrix. So until you get some breathing room, you cannot let Tamamo die.



Of course, once you've protected Tamamo again, you have to get on the ball. The Plant Sector in the southeast would be the easiest to take over vs. how long it would take you to do that, but I didn't want to come all this way to fail, so going after Iskandar and saving our Keys in the south felt the most prudent way.



Sadly our liege is forced to retreat, but that's fine. It synced up nicely with Iskandar being forced to withdraw himself, so once Jeanne abandons this fight, it'll just be a lengthy mop-up operation. A very lengthy mop-up operation, that...



I'm guessing Gilgamesh hasn't gotten the memo.



Explosive arrow right to the gut. Can't be nice.



Crazy that we can be so far in the corner with all enemy Servants defeated, even if all these newly gained enemy Keys are justs from invasions and not from takeovers. I'm not gonna lie, the conquest of the remaining Sectors took *forever*, with the handicap that I neither possess anti-Lightning nor anti-Poison Code Casts. There's really nothing else to talk about in the interim, so I'll see you after it's all done.



Look at that kill count. Good grief...



Well, Gilgamesh does have unique lines for facing this mad dog, as he would probably put it.

You fool...! You will perish for your actions!

Impossible...! You bastard... I will no longer bother showing mercy!

Ugh.... Hm...! Was I too late to recover...?!

Yeah, Gil really doesn't like people he can't taunt. Anyway, Gil is above-average in terms of danger to you, but all of Lu Bu's strengths come to bear against a single enemy. Just make sure he can't fire his NP, and punish him when he whiffs an attack, and you shouldn't have too many problems.



That stage was about as long as the previous two put together...it's too much. And even then, just narrowly took too much damage, almost certainly from random mook enemies during that seemingly-endless fighting between Jeanne being gone and ending the stage. Ugh, whatever, it's a hard stage.





Lu Bu ending

Great General Deluxe Lu Bu. You've brilliantly struck down the golden hero. Your military exploits have earned our empire's highest honors. My Master and I wish to show you our greatest appreciation for all your victories, and so we've declared this day... a national holiday! Lu Bu Appreciation Day! We'll have a celebration throughout the entire Millennium Capital every year! Every single one of our citizens will sing of your might!

▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅--!! (Now I am truly at my peak! Now is the time to release my restless soul!)

Oh, Lu Bu, it's great to see you so happy! I'm super-happy too, see! We've been fighting down a long, hard road. It hasn't been easy, but in the end, your hard work is what's gotten us through it all. Come on, let's join the festivities. First, a parade for your triumphant return in the main road! There are three seats for my Master, the Great General, and myself!

▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅--!!! (Now, fox! Your pelt is mine!)

He-Hey! Look, Lu Bu's totally going berserk! He's not gonna attack Caster, is he? Like do you think he would, now that he's got no one else to fight?

No. That's not what's happening, Elizabeth. Not quite.

This has been Berserker's plan from the beginning. He only fought for Caster so that he could be the one to defeat her in the end. He's been aiming for this all along. It just so happened that he had other prey in front of him up until now...

Oh, is THAT what's happening? Yeah, I never thought he was all that loyal to begin with.

Why is everybody whispering? It's time for the victory parade. Come on, I have seats for you too.

▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅-!!! (Surrender your head!)

Oh, no... Run, you dumb fox!!



No, not yet. Control yourself, my invincible robot. It's much too soon to hunt that beast.

▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅-?!

A pig has to be fattened up before it's slaughtered. And under this Queen, this country will grow fat and hearty. My Lord, wait until this country has grown into its full bounty. Yes, because...you and I certainly aren't going to make it prosper ourselves! *laugh*

▂▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅ (Well... You're right about that... You know best, Chen Gong!)

Yes, that will be best... *laugh* We shall wait for our time to strike!

Oh, dear Lu Bu, whatever are you groaning for? Ah, are you hungry? Do you want some mana? Here you go! We'll hold off on the victory parade until after you eat. Then the parade will be all the more fabulous! As long as the Great General Deluxe is in our empire, we'll control all of SE.RA.PH, and all of Earth beneath it! You have no idea how deeply moved I am right now. It's so good to...finally have someone I can count on!