Part 10: Chapter 7x

Time to see if tampering with the game's code to cheat myself into a gaiden was worth it.



Oh dear, it's raining. Not a good sign.



: Commander Lorraine. All plans have been adjusted to your specifications. Are you sure this will work?

: Do you doubt the works of Great General Lanmark?

: N-never, General. But some of the men... They're starting to distrust our orders. The loss of many other captains has had a... demoralizing effect. They're afraid that we won't make it out alive... I mean, I'm not afraid, but...

: ...If they can't trust the orders of General Lanmark, can they ever hope to follow mine?

: Of course we would follow you, Commander! You've led us all so far in this war...

: Then listen up. My orders are the same as Lanmark's. We will try to divert the enemy forces here until reinforcements arrive. If possible, we'll use our knowledge of this area to gain the advantage and finish them off. Understood?

: Understood, Commander.

It's amazing how low the standards for being a sympathetic character are in this universe when not getting your troops killed is considered an exceptional trait.



: Ah, I can't wait to feel the soft breeze of Yulia! It would, at the very least, be nicer than this incessant rain.

: Really? I like the rain, but I don't know how the breeze feels, so...

: Ah, yes, well... Let's just say I have bad memories of the rain... And as for Yulia, I can't speak for what it is now, but what it was before was a glory to behold. It's not named after the hero Yulia for nothing, Shon.



An example you emulate by calling all Magnians filthy animals.

: Although she never got to see the city named after her, I feel like Yulia's traits rubbed off on the city, making it beautiful and serene.

: That almost sounds too good to be true... Come to think of it, I'm wondering... Why haven't we met any Magnians so far? You'd think they'd guard a shortcut like this, right?

: Hm...You're right, Shon. I have a bad feeling about this.



Suddenly, bandits, up on the mountains where they can't harm anybody.



: We kill these fools and loot the homes, harr!

: Dammit, brigands on both flanks! We're surrounded! Cursed barbarians...

That's some amazing Yulian compassion you're showing there, bud.

: No... did they know we were coming after all?

: They must have anticipated this and hired the bandits to keep watch. After all, we took out a lot of their forces in that last battle. Magnus is a big country, but it can't do everything on its own...

: Then, Magnus probably has more forces stationed further down...

: I imagine that'd be the case, Shon. I don't see an end to this rain anytime soon, either, so let's just push through these dastards as fast as we can!



No music for this chapter, because Blazer didn't even bother to change it.

So we're in the rain. This is a great idea, because now we can only move half as quickly, and most of our foes are hiding up in the mountains, where they'll stay so that they can pepper us with hand axes while we struggle to hit them. This is an amazing design for a map.



Lorraine is pretty tough, but it's easy enough to dupe him into switching to his weaker Javelin, and he won't move from his position except on one special occasion. We've got this, easy.



As annoying as it is to try to kill these guys, they do provide some good loot. We'll be able to make good use of a number of the items we gain this chapter.



So let the trudge begin. It's like playing an ordinary chapter, except in slow motion.



The only possible threat of the bunch is this guy, and he's easy enough to lock down.



The rest, I can mostly just take out at my leisure.



If the game wants to be obstinate about its 50% chances, I might as well let it work in my favor.



More speed on a mage never goes amiss.



And hey, why not on Storm too? He really needs to work on his defenses though.



Regardless, we've got our first item of this chapter collected. For those of you who never bothered to use one (like myself), the Unlock staff will open doors from a 1-2 range away, which is handy if you don't want to endanger whoever opens the door.



And Arthur puts the decent hit chance of the Light school to work, snagging us our second.



Oh look, one of the brigands got off his mountain.



A shame that missed. You don't often get to see a brigand crit.



Al, you are good for more than thievery, you know.



Regardless, Inanna puts him out of our misery. I know a wimpy blond kid who could use one of these.



Can Arthur pull another two-fer?



Yes, he can! And he triggered his HP growth while he was at it. Always great fun to see the HP inflation at work.



Althares is welcoming these brigands from atop a smaller mountain, and they are thoroughly stymied.



Too bad for them that he can hit just fine.



Power! Unlimited POWER!

Ahem.



Here's a novelty item for ya.



Not sure if the Mine Glitch still works, and I'm not sure what I'd do with it if it did, but we'll just have to see. Meanwhile, let's get a little closer.



: We either defeat these rebels or perish at their hands.

: ...Our Commander is putting his life on the line to protect this path... Faithful warriors of Magnus! We cannot allow our Commander to fight alone. Commander Lorraine! For our honor as soldiers... we will stand besides you, rally under the flag of Magnus, and destroy our foe!



So Lorraine moves up a little and two soldiers appear. That's...a real show of support, guys.

Also, I get the feeling that we're supposed to be feeling something for this Lorraine guy, but we haven't had enough time to really establish his character. Sure, he's got loyal soldiers fighting to the death for him, but there's so little emotion behind it that we might as well be watching a line recital.



While this tired dramatic nonsense is going on, Althares and Inanna are hard at work...



Disappointing me.



Don't be fooled by these houses, by the way. While the one near the start was about five lines of useless information in order to fool you into thinking that they're a waste of time, the two houses down here are, in fact, important.



: Thank you for warning us. We were too trusting and didn't worry enough about any possible dangers. We'll close the village off for now. Please, take this spear...May it help you with your battle.

That brings up another point: if we're supposed to establish how honorable this Lorraine guy is, why is he employing bandits who flat-out stated their intentions of robbing the area? At the very least, let him mention that he detests the tactic, but views it as a necessity, or something, otherwise you have to assume that he's endorsing the banditry, and that's not cool.



Regardless, another Axereaver is ours. Always handy.



Hey, look at me, trying to be all fancy-like.





No need to be all melodramatic, dude. It's just sparklies.



As I begin the process of slowly pricking this guy to death, did you know that he has a conversation with Shon and Kevin? He totally does!

(Lorraine fights Kevin)

: Ah, Sir Kevin.

: ...

: You're now fighting against Magnus... I've expected this day to come.

: All... along?

: I cannot put blame for your actions. We were ordered to conquer Atheya... Sir Kevin, you weren't meant for such tides. Magnus isn't what it used to be.

: Commander Lorraine... I don't wish to fight you...

: That's enough, Kevin. Today, I am prepared to fight for my life... Whether it end in death or not. I pray you are prepared to fight for yours.

: ......

(Lorraine fights Shon)

: What?! You're a Magnian...! Who are you?! State your name!

: ...The son of Siegfried? You're still so young...

: W-What are you talking about?

: Draw your blade. Use all the strength you have. Hold nothing back. Test your might on me, son of Siegfried.

: ...!

Of course, to get that, you have to walk Kevin's slowpoke self all the way up to Lorraine or have a guy ill-suited to fighting Lorraine take him on. This is good character-building stuff, and it's all we get of the guy. If we're supposed to feel sorry for him, I think we need more than that.



As we slowly wear Lorraine down...



We rob the citizens before the bandits can do it first.



: -and it's getting difficult with this never-ending war. Nomads always try to force us into giving them our hard-worked for food and water, and we're sick of it. If it'll help in stopping this madness, then please take this sword. Even the thickest of armor falls to this blade.



I wonder if we're going to run into any knights in the future.



You know, with True Hit, that's actually only 7.4% after True Hit calculation. I think this game loves me.



Two can play at the stupid hit chances game.



Would you believe that this was mostly chip damage? I've been fighting that long.



It went so long that Tamiko gained yet another level. I might need to slow down a little.



Regardless, all things must thankfully come to an end.





Again? That's just tiresome.



Too bad that only Siegfried can use this for now.



Once again, still not buying into the whole thing.



: Do not concentrate so much on the sadness brought forth by war, but rather the prosperity that will follow.



: Don't forget this, Shon.

The heck is that supposed to mean? You don't have some secret genocide plans in place, do you, Siggy?

: ......

: For now, we must part Atheya and venture into Valencia. With the Focal Mountain passage secured, we should make it to Valencia without delay...Now, let's head forth...or our morning will be for nothing.

Oh, Blazer. You and your accidental misspellings. I can definitely tell you that my day was ruined by having to kill people as well.

Next Time: The most bored-sounding motivational speaker on the planet.