Part 31: (Part Three, Chapter 3) In which Zelgius is reminded what the chain of command is

However, many imperial senators see the war not only as a means to expand their own influence but also as a convenient opportunity to exterminate the laguz once and for all.



Having seen their homeland invaded, Begnion citizens desiring peace are now few and far between. Against the apostle's wishes, Begnion's army is now fully committed to the war with the laguz.

Zelgius easily escapes the talons of the bird tribes meant to delay him and the Central Army.





Ranulf orders a retreat with all speed, thus avoiding a full-on engagement with the Central Army.

General Zelgius chooses not to pursue the fleeing Gallian army.



Divided by the river, the two armies are deadlocked, able to do little more than glare at one another in hatred.



Something tells me we're about to break the deadlock. Dunno, just a hunch.



If Tibarn and Naesala can't help us, it might be a good idea to go back to Gallia and regroup. Convincing Skrimir won't be easy, but I can't let our people get killed in a hopeless battle.

Understood. Ranulf, this is your war, so I'll follow your orders. I have to say, though, retreating won't be easy. According to Soren, the Central Army has mobilized and begun marching on our position during the last few days.

They finally brought in a competent commander, huh? Hmmm... Our path is blocked both ways.

Hey!



He lives!

Tibarn! Glad to see you're safe! But, what happened?! Didn't the bird tribes hit the supply unit? The Begnion Central Army is here, and they're marching on us!

But where's-

Talk later, eat now. Sorry, but I gotta put something in my stomach and get some rest...

---



He's resting inside that tent over there. Ike, did you see them? Did you see his wings?

One problem with mostly static sprites is that any details beyond unusual eye movement have to be exposited via text.

Yeah. They were covered in blood. He's not hurt, so it must be someone else's...



Ike! Ranulf!





I have to check on him. I'm worried about Tibarn.



Janaff, Ulki, what's going on? What happened to you out there?

Guess what happened. Go on. Guess.

...

...

...

Have you guessed yet?

...

...

...



Herp-a-fucking-derp.

You actually, genuinely, did not see this coming, did you Ranulf?

I'm so mad I can barely see straight! The ravens were informants. They told Begnion our battle strategy.

It was a trap. The supply unit we raided turned out to be the Central Army itself. The troops were under the command of Begnion's most famous general, Zelgius.

General Zelgius? This just got a lot worse...

You've heard of him?

I met him during the Mad King's War. He's powerful, experienced, and clever. One of the best generals of our time.

Yeah. For a beorc, he was quite powerful all right. Tibarn, while shifted, mind you, attacked this Zelgius guy. Zelgius didn't even budge an inch. But all of a sudden he stopped fighting and said, "We've delayed you long enough. If you cherish the lives of your people, return home at once."

He said that?

So the king made a decision. We flew night and day and reached Phoenicis, but...it was too late. Save for the elderly, women, and children, they were all...

Even for Naesala, this is some fucked up shit. Even in the face of everything Begnion have done, he's gone and sold out to them, sabotaging the entire laguz war effort and apparently also genociding all over Phoenecis to boot. What the fuck is he playing at?



I cannot believe he'd play a role in wiping out Phoenicis...

Hey, we're not wiped out yet.

Huh?



I'm alive and well. My people are few, but they still live. Phoenicis is still a country. Janaff. Ulki. You know what we must do.

Of course!

Yes. Begnion and Kilvas will burn for this.



Don't tell me you kittens are going to run off with your tails between your legs. I won't accept that.

Of course not, King Tibarn! I'll get Skrimir right now. A slight delay, but now that we've merged with the hawk tribe, we have the strength to fight.

---

Great! We're still fighting. Gonna let us in on the plan this time? Or you can just skip over it like la-

-what's that, Soren? Oh, we are going to learn the plan in advance this time?





Can you do it?

No sweat. We'll do some officer hunting and keep their leaders' attention on us.

Good. But a distraction alone will not get us across the river. They've got the terrain and Zelgius in their favor.

Bah! Use fewer words, tiny beorc! Tell us what we must do! Some of us have a battle to fight!

Don't interrupt me again, Skrimir. All these words may be the only thing that can possibly win this battle. As I was saying, while Ranulf and his men sow confusion in the rear ranks...





Ahhh, I see what you're doing. You're going to involve the senators and have them start messing things up.

Precisely. Zelgius is the military commander, but the senators have authority over him. If attacked, they will panic and request aid. He will be forced to return and rescue them.





That's all. Is everyone clear on what they have to do?

Hmph. I still dislike beorc tactics. I'd rather face my enemy and give him my name before I snap his neck in my jaws. But in order to defeat cowards, we must use the weapons of cowards. Let's go.

My god. I think Skrimir is learning.



Time for the base menu. Only one conversation to view this time; Soren's fan club is convening outside...



Well, I do pay him plenty for them.

Soren said this mission would fail without help from the Phoenicis Army. We're asking you to take a very big risk, King Tibarn.

We can handle it. We can do anything if it involves teaching those vermin in Begnion a thing or two.

Soren has even answered some of Skrimir's more insane requests. He doesn't listen to a word I say, but when Soren talks strategy, he's all ears.

Oh, Soren.

Is that why he hasn't been complaining during the briefings?

He says he looks forward to what the little strategist will say next. It looks to me like Soren's charmed his way into the most powerful position in this army.

I'm glad to hear it. He's changed, hasn't he?

Yeah, I think so. He still doesn't say much, but he's a lot more at ease these days. He used to be completely closed off, rejecting anyone who tried to get close. Like he'd lock himself away, all alone in his own little world.

We all lost and gained something during the Mad King's War. Maybe it wasn't a complete waste, after all.

Do you think we'll feel the same way about this war when it's over?

Who knows? We'll have to survive it first.

Fair enough.

Time for admin.



Mist and Boyd kick their relationship up a level.



In the absence of a) any suggestions and b) anything else to do right now, Mia and Oscar are paired. With Oscar comes the opportunity for another Earth support, which will help both of their survivability.



We get rid of some old weapons...



And a supposed "treasure". Glad someone's willing to pay for these.



Today's bargains. We snap up the Dracoshield for our stockpile. Flourish is an entirely useless (well, needlessly situational) skill that allows you to deliberately attack for half damage. It is not snapped up. Not at all.



In skill management, we give Oscar Saviour, since mounted units are already pretty great at rescuing people.



Nephenee begins her slow, inevitable ascent to BEXP godhood. I hope to give her one of these levels between every fight, so we can get good combat use out of her and ludicrously cheap BEXP levels in the meantime.



Let's roll.



Good work. Hm... It's becoming foggy.

It looks like the hawk tribe has joined with the main force, but I'm sure this fog will hinder them.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. The fog might actually be a boon to them. We'll wait and see what move they make.





Glad to know that, even if only in plot, the enemy is affected by Fog of War.







Looks like Begnion aren't the only ones with tons of units.



The van's marching. Halfway across the river already. There's no point in waiting. Oh, well. Enemy'll spot them soon.



Then it's time to fight. You should go.

Don't remind me. I hate flying. Anyway, give the word, will you?



No need. Our friends heard every word.





Ah. Finally it's time. I've had enough of sitting around.



To wing, brothers! Keep up with me if you can!











The hawk tribe are awesome.



Meanwhile, the beasts get stuck in.



Zelgius objects to this turn of events.









He's having none of that shit.



My lord?

It's nothing. I'm needed elsewhere. Keep them engaged until I return.



Yes, sir.



What's bothering him?



Oh.





Oh boy.



Well, well... Sorry to drop in unannounced. We thought it best to hunt the strongest prey first.



Of course. Interesting maneuver.



Will you draw your blade?



I trust you know who you face. Zelgius, commander of this army. If you are not worthy of fighting me, then you are only wasting my time.



I'm Ranulf.



Right-hand to Gallia's future king.



Will that do?





We shall see. I shall accept your challenge.



At your ready.





---

What is all that noise? And at this hour!



Then tell Zelgius to wipe out the sub-humans quickly and quiet down! I cannot sleep with all this racket. Don't you peasants know I need my beauty sleep?! I should have you all flogged, you inconsiderate fools!

Wretched snob...

...



It's funny because the middle hawk was carrying Titania, horse and all.

We're in. Soren, let's go over the plan one more time.

Our objective is to destroy the enemy supplies. The senators store their food and personal effects in crates. If we burn those crates, the senators will likely pull their troops back to protect their own hides.

So, while the laguz distract the enemy, we force the gate open, storm inside, and burn all the supplies.

Exactly.

We can also set their horses loose. That should add to the confusion.

Agreed. Also, please try not to hurt the senators themselves. Harming them might cause us trouble later on, especially once the fighting is over.

All right. We've got to finish before the fog burns off. Let's get this done. Attack!



We get to bring 11 units - exactly enough to cover everyone in our team who actually has prospects.



Here's as much of the battlefield as we can see in one screenshot. Our objective, as stated, is to burn all of the piles of crates - this can be done by any unit and only requires them to stand next to a pile of crates and select "burn" from the menu, just like lighting a torch.

There are also a few other things to consider.

First, three of the tents - the ones with open doors - can be visited for items.

Second, the two tents that are not open each contain a Senator who will eventually emerge and try to run away. We get BEXP for allowing them to live, but here's the catch - they drop really awesome items. Stuff we want. I, of course, want everything at once, so I'm going to try and steal the stuff off them and then let them escape.

Finally, the horses. They get their own phase to run around in, and once you bust open their little enclosures they'll spend a few turns running about and then escape. We get 200 BEXP for each one that escapes.



The boss of this chapter happens to be the first user of dark magic in the entire continuity of FE9/10. Took them long enough! Dark magic returns with much the same characteristics as it's always had; it hits really hard and also really slowly. All the same, Veyona here is plenty fast, so he's actually a threat.



Let's get this show on the road.



Rolf - friggin' Rolf - leads the charge.



The enemy is going to bust through the door to get to us anyway - so why should we wait for them? Gatrie makes with the pre-emption.





Oscar is getting really screwed. I really hope he gets some turnaround soon...



Mia cleans up.



She cleans right up.



First turn complete.



Ah. They've noticed us.

How interesting! I never expected them to attack this particular camp. While the senators may deserve to get kicked around a little bit, I cannot let my general down. I shall protect this camp with all my power. Soldiers of Begnion! Wipe out the bandits! Kill every last one of them!



At this point, about five reinforcements appear. More meat for the grinder, I guess.



The enemy means to countercharge us, but Gatrie holds the line.



Even taken on its own merits, the "no damage" "tink!" sound is a beautiful thing. But the thing that makes it really amazing is that, unlike a "miss!", where shield-bearing classes have a special "blocking" animation, the unit taking "no damage" just stands there in their idle pose, just straight up not giving a fuck.



A silly mage challenges Soren to a magic contest.



At the end of it all, a Senator emerges from the right hand tent.



He's carrying an Ashera Icon, which we'll be helping ourselves to. Despite having a class and not-at-all-bad stats, Senators are noncombatants. They are, however, strictly part of the Red Army, and subject to all the rules that brings; they can walk through other red units, and are blocked by us. This is fine by us.



Let's charge on through.





Nephenee's gradual rise to power means she'll remain on equal terms with the rest of the team - though sometimes I can't help but wish she'd progress quicker in strength.



There is generally much murder. Rolf remains a front-runner, as ever.



Haar is, helpfully, unconstrained by all of these silly fences, and is free to fly around, murdering whomever he pleases. He'll be very useful for burning the supplies later on.



Never a bad idea to use Haar.



...aaaand of course it's a Cancel. Wouldn't be right if Haar didn't have a redundant Cancel as his first action, would it?



End of turn 2.



Being impaled is only a minor concern for Rolf.



More reinforcements from the west. Otherwise uneventful. Notice the Senator - once out of their tents, Senators will move towards the north of the map, through the area where the boss is, and out of the northwest exit. So never mind the east and west exits - there's plenty of time to catch up and nab his stuff.



Turn 3, and Soren gets right on to burning the first pile of supplies. Meanwhile, Haar's going door-to-door:



I'm getting out of here. You can take whatever you want from this stash. Thanks!

[Received a Blossom!]

Very nice. Blossom is a skill that halves EXP gained but allows you to roll twice for each stat growth at level up; effectively providing a ( (1 - x%) * x%) boost to a growth rate of x%. (you still can only get +1 to each stat per level, though.)



In among the carnage, Rolf gets a somewhat nifty level.



Mist is still thoroughly ungreat.



The aftermath of Turn 3.



The third enemy phase is about as interesting as the second - some people succeed in actually dealing damage to Ike, but nothing serious. However, the second and final Senator has emerged from the central tent.



Do want. We'll have to keep him busy while Heather deals with the first guy...



Oscar heads towards the nearest path leading to the central tent. He'll keep the guard here busy while keeping the area sealed off - he's also on a thicket so he's even safer than usual.



With a little bit of help from being shoved, Heather is able to reach the first Senator.



Very good.



Generally, we advance north, but Haar charges right ahead and takes out this mage here...







And now the second Senator is pinned in.



Turn 4 is done.



At least Oscar's ludicrous resistance gains aren't going to waste. This is pretty much the only interesting thing that happens this enemy phase. The rest is just enemies missing us.



Thanks to his Canto skill, Haar is able to attack people in his range while still remaining in his Senator-blocking place.



Mia and Rolf dispose of an annoying General guarding the horses.



And Ike clears the way forward.



End of turn 5.



Oscar keeps on holding. And some enemies make a futile attempt to hurt Gatrie.



Turn 6. Heather uses her handy innate Pass to slip behind the mage who's been pestering Oscar.



Lots of good stuff! But no strength! C'mon, game!



Oscar frees the first batch of horses.



Gatrie charges ahead, hoping that enemies will kill themselves on him before the rest of the group even arrives.



Haar is still flying about, too.



And still growing strong.



End of turn 6.



The enemies largely keep to themselves. The horses, however, just run the hell away.



Turn 7. Haar moves to pester a longbowman.



The enemies at the north end are a step above the rest. This guy goes a round with Ike and lives.



Soren frees the second batch of horses.



Mia and Rolf charge up the right side of the map.



Boyd finally gets to setting the next pile of crates ablaze.



End of turn 7.

But... does it seem like we've forgotten something?

It's true! Somehow, after spending several turns pointedly contriving a situation in which it's even possible, I proceeded to completely forget to steal the second Senator's White Gem. It will be an astounding amount of time before I remember. Don't worry, though, we're still going to get that gem.

Derp!



This is basically the theme for the upcoming enemy phase.



A guy with a Killer Bow turns up. He could conceivably do a whole nine damage to Haar!



Or not.



Turn 8, and Mia and Rolf move on up.



Killer Bow man is dealt with summarily.



I... just... you are kidding me.



Despite beginning the turn standing right next to the Senator, Heather ignores him and burns some more crates instead.



Soren clears this annoying general out of the way.

I meant to have Nephenee attack the mage behind him, but the square in front of him is also the square in front of a tent, and like an idiot, I pick "Visit" instead of "Attack".



What, this? He told me it was very precious. Here, you take it.

[Received a Master Crown!]

Wow, thanks lady! Master Crowns will promote any second tier unit of Lv 10 or higher to third tier. Handy for the impatient, or the people who manage to cap everything prematurely.



So instead we send Haar to deal with the mage.



In the traditional, redundant manner.



End of turn 8. If you're sharp, you'll notice that Ike has been shoved a space forward by Gatrie.



Seemingly everyone and their mother goes after Gatrie. Shocking, what with his Provoke skill and everything.



The Storm Sword is a higher-tier Wind Edge. Like its cousin, it is potentially useful but horrifically inaccurate.



The thing about Vantage is, it's awfully nifty and everything, but unless you can kill the attacker in one hit (or get lucky with Adept or some other skill), it doesn't really change the outcome of most battles.



One of the horses finally manages to run away.



It is replaced by more soldiers. Lovely.



Turn 9 kicks off with more Mia doing light damage to generals.



And Rolf doing heavy damage to generals.



Another pile of crates goes up.





And more enemies go down.



Even Oscar is kicking ass.



End of turn 9.



In another unremarkable enemy phase, the two reinforcements from earlier start chasing us, and the horses run around a bit more. All but two of them escape.



Turn 10; Haar continues his anti-mage patrol. This time he actually takes a hit. Good thing he's got that Nullify skill!



Oscar heads down to fend off the reinforcements. He'll remain here for the rest of the mission.



Everyone else moves up, and turn 10 ends.



The boss is on the move! Also, a general challenges Gatrie.



This guy's both tough and fast, so Gatrie doesn't double him. He's a problem, because we really want to get a melee unit over to the boss.



Oscar holds the fort.



And more assholes arrive.



Turn 11 kicks off with Haar doing some more socialising.



P-please! I beg of you! Spare me! Mercy!

[Received a Hammerne!]

O... kay...? Well, we can't complain with the results. Hammerne is a very rare (as in, there's only one) staff that will completely repair an item in someone else's inventory to full durability. It has three uses. You'd better use them wisely!



Ike begins the process of beating a path to Veyona.



Heather still hasn't stolen that White Gem. She has, however, pinched the Mend staff that an enemy Bishop was carrying.



Mia and Rolf collectively cripple (and disarm) the halberdier guarding the far right crates...



End of Turn 11.



Veyona abandons all the targets on the east and instead attacks Haar.







Dark magic hits hard.



Meanwhile, the halberdier attacks Mia.





So Mia overkills the shit out of him.



Good level, good level.



Two reinforcements arrive from the north and east, and the rest of the horses escape.



Turn 12, and the enemy Bishop falls to Rolf.



Again with the pretty-good-ness.



Mia goes back to picking on reinforcements.



This guy is Adept'd to within an inch of his life. He's also disarmed, so that's funny.



Did you notice the discrepancy?

Well, trick question. There wasn't one. But if you're wondering why Mia dealt twelve damage with that last attack when she was projected to deal eleven, it's because when the enemy had his Short Spear disarmed, Mia was no longer at a weapon triangle disadvantage, allowing her to deal an additional point of damage. We've seen this sort of mid-battle stat-changing before with the Resolve skill; this is just one more manifestation of that. The more you know!



End of turn 12.



Veyona is distracted by Gatrie.



Oscar's luck is as brilliant as ever.



Turn 13. Gatrie goes charging after Veyona.



Blows are exchanged, but Gatrie has more health, and more friends.



To wit; Soren. He could use the experience from this. Note that, now that dark magic has returned, the "classic" Fire Emblem Magic Triangle has returned. Soren's anima magic is at a disadvantage against dark magic, and Veyona has a speed advantage on Soren, but Soren has the necessary magic and skill to make this attack work.



Bye.



Sweet.

Protect the supplies... Stay...calm...



He drops his Shade scroll. We'll find a use for it, no doubt.



I finally remember to steal this damn thing.



Well, we've got everything worth getting in this chapter, so everyone who can grabs a kill -



- yes, even Mist -



- and Rolf and Haar burn the last of the supplies. Mission Complete!

The fog is about to clear. Our work is done. Let's pull back!

---



Sadly, not everyone is having such an easy time of this war.



I don't like this one bit.







For all his backflipping, Ranulf doesn't seem to be having much of an effect.





He's just barely holding on, though...



Pray to the goddess. You're finished.

Ahh... I tried...

Farewell.

...What?!







God damn, you can't help but respect that man.



The king of Phoenicis! Why did you transform? Do you not wish to fight me?

Oh, I wish to fight you, all right. Unfortunately, I don't really have the time. So, I'll let you go this time.

What do you mean?



Phew. Just in time.

We need you to take control of the situation!

What?!



You were kind enough to tell me of the attack on my country. I'm only returning the favor.

Understood. I accept the favor, then.





Hey, how are you doing? Thanks to Ike, the army is crossing the river as we speak. We should go join Skrimir. Can you move?

No...



Is it me or does Ranulf have a seriously bad habit of getting into fights he can't win?



Alright! We missed out on the turn bonus (it's 10 turns - we could've, but I was concerned with getting all the items), but this is a nice large chunk of BEXP to be getting on with.

Next time: Skrimir finds a new and original way to fuck everything up.