Part 36: (Chapter 7, Continued)

Reyson immediately gains a pretty useless level. Well, magic isn't entirely useless for herons, but...



First turn's pretty boring, really. There's a lot of distance between us and them. Even the enemy dracoknights are still out of range.



"Among" the beasts? There are, like, two laguz here, and one of them's a heron. And your damn army has Volug, who's now stopped pretending to just be some random dog and is fighting openly as a laguz. The hell, soldier?

Here he comes.

Without the advantage of an ambush, this fight is sure to be tougher than our last one.

You don't say.



The enemy army actually does shockingly little. The dracoknights fly just up to the edge of where we'd be in their range (which is silly, because that prevents them from being able to hit and run us), some enemies move across the water, and that's about it.



Haar is actually in something of a dilemma for this fight. Though he's a defensive beast, and even though he has Nullify, he still has very low resistance, and since he's being used as a distraction here, we don't want him mobbed by mages and melee units. So we're going to have to do our best to keep him out of mage range for as long as possible. It's a shame we don't have a Renewal or Imbue scroll for him...



Mia and Nephenee are going to bait the right and left dracoknights, respectively. The right one may also choose to go after Haar. His funeral, I guess. Everyone else edges forward, and we end turn 2.



A mage goes after Gatrie. Gatrie isn't actually holding a weapon yet, because we don't want him murdering everyone since he's now a third tier unit and will gain maybe 2 EXP per kill on this map. He can, however, still function as a distraction.



Nephenee effortlessly holds off draco-left.



Draco-right goes for Haar and is doubled in the face in response.



Those Physic using priests are quite irritating. When they're around, you can't hope to make progress through anything other than one-turn kills or one-hit counters, otherwise they'll just be healed back up to full again.



Oh, hey, two hawks have shown up. Wonder who they are? Kinda difficult to tell when they're transformed.

Man, if IS were really trying to portray beorc racism in a non-heavyhanded way, there would have been at least one "you hawks/ravens/cats/tigers" all look the same" comment in there somewhere.



Ike knows, though.

Orders of the king. I am here to assist you.

Oh, I get it. You're here to guard Reyson.

Shh! Ike, please! I cannot let the prince hear about this! Please pretend that I'm only here to assist you, I beg of you.

Sure, that's fine with me. Whatever your reasons, I appreciate the help. Thanks!

Don't mention it.

We could also have talked to Janaff, who's a bit funnier...

Janaff? What are you doing here?

Oh, hey, Ike. Don't mind me. I'm just, um, getting some air.

Hm. Right. And here I was, assuming you were here to guard Reyson.

Shhh! Not so loud! You can't let the White Prince know why I'm here!

I know, I know. I'm just giving you a hard time.

Then help me! Hey, how about this? I'll join the Greil Mercenaries!

Sounds great to me. Free labor is always welcome.

The problem with Reyson, I guess, is that too much time spent associating with Tibarn has given him an attitude and outlook that is completely at odds with his actual capabilities.



Well, since they're here, they're going to help us. Janaff and Ulki may not get enough kills to be our technical MVPs, but they sure as hell are the most invaluable allies on this mission, and I doubt any of you readers will need to ask why. We have some very tall orders to fulfil on this mission, and these two are going to make it all possible.



The difference that four well placed BEXP levels make for Soren is astounding.



After stopping briefly to wreck an enemy's shit, Haar flies right into the enemy to confuse and disorient them.



For all it's mediocrity, the support dialog sometimes manages to be hilarious.



Rolf kills this guy so throughly his lance dissolves. Corrosion actually has a little liquid splash effect when it activates. You'd think a thing like that would do damage, or reduce defence, or something, but... well. He's dead, in any case.



End of turn 3, aka, the start of the actual battle.



The left hand enemies go after Nephenee. If you're noticing a small reduction in enemies in Haar's vicinity, that's because, well, Haar.



Another dracoknight shows up from the south...



And one from the northwest, too.





Ulki, a.k.a. the Hawk King's Ears, is a pretty great unit. Many people, not unreasonably, proclaim him to be the best non-royal laguz. His stats are pretty good, and he's hardy enough to take a hit or two even when untransformed. And when transformed, he can kick all kinds of ass.

Hey... do some of his secondary attributes look a little high to you?



That's because of his skills. Ulki, being as he is the Hawk King's Ears, has really, really good hearing, that manifests as the Vigilance skill, locked and unique to him. Vigilance gives Ulki a flat +20 to both avoid and dodge, effective whether or not he is transformed. That's pretty damn good, right there. Ulki is a great unit and a probable contender for our A-Team.





Janaff, a.k.a. the Hawk King's Eyes, is no slouch either. He's a bit stronger and tougher and slower than Ulki, but he'll not do you wrong. For some reason, he's holding a second Wildheart scroll (though not actually using the skill).



He has a unique skill, too - Insight. It provides +20 to hit and +5 vision in fog of war, making Janaff a great utility character even when not employed for combat.

Hawks are to ravens as tigers are to cats - they're generally slower but more powerful, and transform (and remain transformed) for longer.

If you've observed that both Janaff and Ulki are quite strong and high level, it's because this mission is kinda-sorta the Greil Mercs' answer to the Dawn Brigade's first swamp mission waaay back in Part 1, and Janaff and Ulki are the new Nailah and Tormod. The emphasis is not so much on having to take time to train characters but rather on destroying the enemy as completely and in as short a time as is humanly possible. The most thorough victory comes from finding the correct use of your overpowered characters. In this case, Janaff and Ulki's purpose is pretty obvious; they're going to fly in and out of the map's various obstructions and generally be a pain for enemies; they're going to eliminate problematic targets in the rear lines, punch holes in the front, and do it all in hit-and-run style. They're also going to help us clear the more out-of-the-way parts of the map so we can do some important stuff.



This is our first time actually encountering this fact, but the bird tribes are vulnerable not only to arrows but also to wind magic. It's admittedly less of a problem for them than thunder is for dracoknights, what with their OK resistance, but it's especially not a problem for Ulki, with his crazy speed and bonus avoid.



Hawks also do that badass hawk cry when they win a battle, so that's a plus too.



Nephenee takes care of the other guy in the water.



Rolf didn't get any Bonus EXP levels because his stats are already insane. And he hasn't even capped anything yet!



Still hasn't! He's actually a little behind on HP, but sod HP, he's quite defensively blessed. Average defence for Lv 12 Rolf is 16.85.



While Rolf and Mia clear a path for Gatrie and the rest, Haar ducks behind the lines to revisit his favourite pastime; mage smashing.



With the help of some Olivi Grass, Ranulf is ready to join the fray.

Somehow, this map seems massive when you start, and seems to halve in size once you step off the first island. Or maybe it's because such a large number of enemies suicided...



Lots of nothing happens to Gatrie.



Meanwhile, for the first time in his career, Haar is in serious trouble. That mage and seemingly half the goddamn enemy army all managed to get hits in on him (despite the odds) and how he's on quite low health. One good hit and he's toast.



Nephenee is having... better luck.



On our turn, Ulki picks up Nephenee and flies west. Janaff follows behind him.



The rest of the army gets stuck in to the enemy.



Soren continues being actually useful.



Rolf continues being overkilltacular. (that's corrosion activating there)



Haar runs the fuck away to heal. This spot, of all the places he can go, is the one where the least enemies will be able to attack him next turn. He equips his Short Axe for defence and chugs some concoction.



End of turn 5.



A swordmaster smacks Soren. If not for all that BEXP, Soren would've gotten doubled. Instead he survives to Elfire the shit out of the guy.



The enemy's mages are less competent, choosing to target Ranulf with their 12% odds.



Rolf is targeted at close range, but dodges anyway because Rolf.



Again with the chances we really shouldn't have taken. Not to worry, though, Soren survives.



Then, yet another dracoknight arrives from the northwest, signalling our next turn.



Soren's Elthundering skills are better than this guy's Elthundering skills.



Much better.



I'm reluctant to involve Gatrie in more murder, but we've reached the point where we need people dead more than we need specific people killing them. Not that Rolf's going to be wanting for victims.



Marshalls are outfitted with badass capes in addition to even more armour and gold trim.



Ranulf continues doing his thing.



As does Rolf. Rolf actually takes a hit here despite managing to activate Corrosion on this guy. Rolf is Lv 20/12, so the mage's Elfire tome would've been worn down to only 3 uses.



Time to begin our assault on the second front. Ulki drops Nephenee on the island.



Janaff takes out a nearby wind mage. There's a crossbowman on the island; both hawks stay well clear of him, don't you worry.



Haar fails at hitting a guy, but is nevertheless healthy enough to resume distracting the enemy on the central island. Note that Zihark is among them.



End of turn 6. We're in full swing now.

Know what never gets old?





This.



The assault on Nephenee begins. There are basically four major threats on that island; the crossbowman, Nolan, Aran and Jill. Because all of them have ranged weapons, they'll use those - which is great, because Nolan, Aran and Jill could potentially be very dangerous if they were smart enough to use their good weapons. This also means that Nephenee alone can survive an attack from all of them at once, which will become easier as they're gradually wiped out by her, Ulki and Janaff.



The crossbowman and two dracoknights have, between them, hit Nephenee once for six damage.



Then comes Nolan. Here's the computer failing at weapon choice; it chooses entirely based off of whether or not it can avoid a counterattack, and never considers attacking head on using Tarvos, which would deal lots of damage with a high success rate and add enough defence to Nolan to negate the counterattack. Not that we mind it being stupid, of course.

(note also that this is the first time we've ever seen Nolan's Nihil skill activating. It deactivates Nephenee's Wrath skill.)



Nephenee and Aran meet at last. Aran misses.



Zihark goes after Haar. All of the Dawn Brigadiers who were in Path of Radiance have at least some generic dialogue, and many have specific conversations.



NO STOP WASTING THE BRAVE SWORD YOU STUPID FUCK



On his third attack (and therefore after Haar's counter), Zihark dares to land a redundant Cancel on us. More importantly, there go four Brave Sword uses.



Jill comes after Nephenee, and lands a Short Axe hit for 8 damage. Nephenee is now on just over half health. Not too shabby.



A few reinforcements show up, and then it's back to us.

Now, it's time to punish a certain someone for recklessly using rare weapons.



It's been a while, Zihark. So, you're with Daein?

Yep. This is weird, Ike. I never thought we'd meet again as enemies...

It's the nature of being a mercenary. No hard feelings, Zihark. Any chance you could convince the Daein army to retreat?

I wish. It's too complicated right now. Too many politicians playing around.

I see... I'm not much for politics. All I do is live by my principles, my sword, and my friends. What can I say? I won't change who I am, even if it means fighting you.

That's fine by me. You're still the man I knew from the Mad King's War. It's about time I also threw away my doubts...



And your life as well, by the look of things.



Oh good, now he realises.

Sorry, guys. I'm turning back for now. I really suggest you all retreat as well.

So, yeah, the Dawn Brigadiers won't actually die, just retreat. And unlike when our guys have to "retreat", they actually get to come back. So we're not killing them. Just... destroying them a little.



Ulki does for Jill...



And Janaff for Nolan. Nephenee dispenses with the crossbowman.

Here's a thing. If you talk to Jill with Haar, Jill will actually defect and join up with the Greil Mercenaries. You can do the same by talking to Zihark with Lethe or Mordecai.



Ranulf has reached his asskicking quota for the time being.



Rolf goes for a crit and gets it.



Ike gets a second turn from Reyson and charges right into the enemy, taking a moment to finally kill this priest. No more Physicing for him.



End of turn 7. The next few turn will mainly involve waiting for units to kill themselves on Ike and co. We need to clear up some space.



Despite everything that's happened, a mage tries to attack Haar at melee range. Riiight.



I'm somewhat regretting putting the Wind Edge on Ike, since it's kinda limiting his murder-ness. At least he'll be able to counterattack the rangers.



Aran has another go at Nephenee. It's much less of a concern because most of his backup is dead now.



Our turn again. Haar flies over to assist.



Aran's defence is batshit, so it takes both Janaff and Ulki to finally kill him.



They defeated me, as well... I'm falling back temporarily.



Nephenee walks to the edge of the island and heals up.



Rolf clear a guy out of Ike's way, and Ike charges further into enemy lines.



Gatrie clears out the leftovers.



End of turn 8. Just a bit more clearing...



This guy, with a Killer Lance, was mixed in with the Daein generics. He could be a problem... but he didn't crit. Nephenee couldn't kill him, though... which means...



...yyyyep. Micaiah employs her Physic staff.

Meanwhile, three guys attack Ike.



They only serve to make him stronger. That's five caps hit now - HP, strength, skill, speed and defence. Bonus EXP could, at this point, guarantee +3 to magic, luck and resistance, too. They wouldn't cap, though.



Two dracoknights from the south. They'll be minor annoyances.



These might slow me down a tad, too.



As our turn begins, Ulki runs out of TP. That's annoying.



Ike clears out an unfortunate archer.



Ranulf has been at the Olivi Grass again, so he prepares to fight once again.

Now... we're going to accomplish a very large amount of stuff in a few very well planned moves. Let's see now...



Soren goes and stands here.



Haar picks him up and flies here...



Janaff makes a brief pause to murder a mage...



Then flies over here.



Ulki flies next to Janaff, grabs a Laguz Stone off him (He has this because Ike traded it to him at the start of the battle but I didn't think it worth pointing out).



He then uses it...



And flies here.



Rolf is healed by Mist and joins them.



Then Reyson, bless his heart, flies into the middle of all of them and transforms, using Vigor to give all of them another turn.



Ulki immediately uses his turn to take out this dracoknight, who you may notice is the only current threat to Reyson.



Janaff is about to de-transform, but he has just enough juice left to deal with Killer Lance guy first.



Finally, Haar drops Soren just outside the murderzone.

Wow! That was a lot of very meticulously planned turns!



End of turn 9. The Dawn Brigadiers now outnumber the generics.



Janaff eats an Elthunder while vulnerable. Note that even now he's fast enough to not be doubled.



A lot of guys throw things at Ike and Ranulf to no effect, but this guy tries the up close effect and Ranulf scratches the shit out of him.



This chucklefuck tries to Crossbow Ike at close range. Guess how well it works?



There's also this guy. He dies too.



The dracoknight that Ranulf couldn't quite kill is duly Physic'd. How annoying.



AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

To Edward's credit though, his damn sword makes hitting him difficult, and there's always the uncomfortable chance that he could crit. Remember, the Dawn Brigadiers generally have much higher speed, accuracy and avoid than their generic counterparts, so don't discount them too quickly.



Edward's not so fast that Ike can't double him, but he dodges the second hit and thus survives.



To be Physic'd.



Y'know... I just remembered Haar's hauling this Hammer around and hasn't used it in a while. Maybe if there was some kind heavily armoured knight hanging around to use it on...

Oh! I know!



AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA



Truly, this is the goddamn daddy of all redundant Cancels.







Soren is carrying one of each second tier magic tome, so he can get the magic triangle advantage on anyone. It's quite handy.

Gatrie goes after Edward.















Mia goes playing the numbers again. She's on Best biorhythm, and one Adept will kill this fool dead.



Or this. This works too.



Ranulf gets good crit luck too. This screenshot makes Ranulf's vs-flyer crits seem much more badass than they actually are.



Ulki softens this guy up...



Janaff finishes him.



Ulki then uses a Reyson provided turn to deal with the last generic priest and his annoying Physic staff.



Part of the reason the hawks are so invaluable in this mission is because they can fly in and out of the murderzone thanks to Canto. They're really handy for clearing out the generics.



Ike takes some cheap shots through an obstruction at this guy...



And that's turn 10.



A very silly general takes a 6% potshot at Mia. It misses.



It speaks highly of this warrior that he's theoretically able to damage Gatrie. The practicality of it is less encouraging, however. He is doubled in the face for his trouble.



A halberdier gets a lucky shot on Mia...



But Mia gets a luckier shot on him. Unfortunately, though...



Her sword breaks before the last hit. She has a spare, but this is still annoying.



Hey, who's t-



AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh, seriously. This just happened. Well, here's your close up shot of Lughnasadh, in any case. Oh, Leonardo. You useless fool.



Oh shitfuck. He wasn't supposed to move that way!

Yes, the Black Knight starts moving in turn 10. This will probably scare the shit out of you if you don't see it coming. Problem is, even though I did know it was coming, I figured he'd go right, not up. Well... this isn't insurmountable.



When our turn comes, Ike moves up a tad...



Then Gatrie picks him up.



Meanwhile, Rolf, Mia and Ranulf keep up their offensive.



(still no caps!)



Haar picks up Soren again and flies over here...



And there is chanting.



(and a shit level.)

With his additional turn, Rolf gets down to do what most players start fantasising about as soon as they begin this mission;



Destroying Leonardo.





Ulki takes out Sothe.



The writers were really trying to make Sothe into a main character, so of course he gets lots of death dialogue.

Sothe? No! Sothe, please! Hold on, I'm coming over to you!

Don't worry... I won't die so easily. I'll stay by your side.

Thank goodness you're all right! But, Sothe, go back and rest. You can't fight with a gaping wound like that... Promise me that you'll go back and get some rest.

...Fine.



Soren is dropped just here.



And Ike is dropped... right into the murder zone.



End of turn 11.



Look, Fiona, I know we kinda exploited the game to make you good and you turned out above average, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, k?



Right. Well, let's get this over with.



Of course it wasn't over. You were a boy trying to live up to the memory of the greatest swordsman in history.

And yet, I was the one who walked out of the castle that day.

You have your father to thank for that. When you told me that he had crippled himself, I realized that I had never fought him at all, merely his shadow.

What are you getting at?

I saw immediately that you were not your father's equal, but that one day you might be.



Well, here it is, folks. This is the missing piece of the puzzle. It's something of a cop-out, but it's the least cheap explanation we're ever going to get for what happened. If you recall events, and add that the Black Knight was in full control the whole time, then it doesn't seem so ridiculous to suggest that he could have tricked Ike into believing he had won, and then used that handy Warp Powder of his to escape once everyone had fled the collapsing castle.

...You did, didn't you? I've relived that fight so many times... How could I not have seen it before?

You were not yet capable of seeing it. But I had to let you live, so that you could continue to train and perhaps one day be worthy of Gawain's legacy. My armor's blessing is gone; let us see if that day is today.

I promise you that it will be. Begin.



Welp. On second thoughts, I don't think today's going to be that day.

...although that was an interesting detail just now. His armour is no longer blessed. Did Ike do that? If not... why?



Well, blessing or no, he's still the Black Motherfucking Knight and he still hits like a nuclear bullet freight train.

Funfact: If you put Ike anywhere except right at the edge of the murderzone, he will probably die, because the Black Knight will probably engage at melee range, and Ike will probably get Eclipse'd. Well, "probably" here meaning a 30-50% chance depending on the Black Knight's biorhythm, but really, do you really want to take that chance?



Well, that's one daunting task survived, and it's our last turn. Ranulf de-transforms - he's done here.



Janaff casually disposes of Fiona.





And now it's time for Micaiah and Soren to have a little chat.



Soren, of course, figures it out immediately.

Who are you? You're... You're just like me!

Yes, they call our kind the Branded. As the years pass, I understand better and better how others see us.

You are so...cold. It's like you're cloaked in frost. Is there even blood in your veins?

There is. Blood very similar to yours, in fact. Blood that teaches us what it means to be rejected and alone.

Your heart is frozen, but I feel a warm core trying to melt through that ice. I see... You have someone you cherish very much. Someone you rely on.

Do not presume to understand me, you ridiculous girl. You have no idea who I am and what I can do. None at all. Daein has no business in this war. I will defeat you swiftly and send you and your army back to Daein.

I finally meet my own kind, and he is an enemy... ...I will not retreat. I won't let you go any further!



If Micaiah has one thing at all going for her, it's her absolutely ludicrous resistance. It's certainly not her Physic staff, in any case.



Haar goes for Volug.



He gets a hit, then Volug's Resolve activates... and that's it. Volug's speed boost from Resolve meant Haar could no longer double him.

But wait!



Volug kicked Haar so hard he classed up!



...and I said "Damn!"



And then I said "Damn!" a second time.

Dragonlords get Stun as their mastery skill. We've already seen Stun in action, of course.



Ulki drops in to finish off Micaiah.



We won't lose! We'll never give up!



In swoops Reyson...



Who is promptly picked up by Haar and flown away.



Finally, Ulki rescues Soren and flies away too.



Phew! It's the end of our last turn, we've done everything we needed to do, and the murderzone is free of inhabitants.



As one last fuck-you, Laura uses a Recover staff to heal Volug. Mend would've done it, you stupid woman...



Hmm, right. Good! Looks like we did it! Ike! The main force has crossed the river. We did it!

Excellent. Everyone, push through! Let's meet up with the main force!

---

The beast soldiers are behind us! We're being attacked from behind!



It's not just the beasts! There are hundreds of hawks, as well!



Begnion. Assholes. Why are you still surprised by this?

...They got us. Commander Ike's force was just a decoy.

Staying will only increase casualties. Let's retreat.

No, Maiden! We can still fight! Please give us your orders!

I have. We shall retreat! I will not let all of you die in vain!

But...

General's orders. We kept our losses to a minimum. That's enough for this battle.

Yes, sir!

Micaiah, I'm surprised. This is the first time you couldn't predict the enemy's movement.

...You're right.

Chirp!



What's wrong?!

Sothe, don't...



---





Lekain? What's he doing here?

Hmm, this looks bad, King Pelleas. Is this how the people of Daein repay Begnion for all the kindness it has offered them? I'm afraid Daein and the senate's friendly relationship stops here.



Oh, I can't wait to hear this one explained.

Well, well... Since you begged, I suppose... I will consider it.

Please, just listen... Daein remains loyal to the senate. We will carry out any task give to us. Your whim is our command. Just, please give us another chance!

Very well. We shall overlook your failure this one time. But only once. Farewell, young king of Daein.



What? Lekain has Warp Powder too?

Pelleas...



That man you were speaking with... He is a senator from Begnion, correct? Duke Lekain of Gaddos, I believe? He was here before as part of the empire's inspection team. He came in Duke Persis's stead.

Yes. You are quite right, Mother. That was Vice-Minister Lekain of Begnion. So you saw us together...

Tell Mother what happened. You look absolutely terrified. Does that man have something on you? Is he trying to hurt you? It's all right to tell your mother th--



We were talking about the future of our two countries, and how we might...repair our relationship.

But--

Please go back to your room. I shall go rest as well. I find myself very tired of late.



What. The fuck. Is going on. In Daein?



Next time: The return of General Septimus!