Part 101: Mission #35: Mercenary Sentai Wulong

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Mission #35: Mercenary Sentai Wulong

Emails! Lots of Emails!





: Wow, this is amazing.
: Yeah. Even I can't match that.
: Are you guys morons?
Believe me, given some of the designs I've seen, I'm totally willing to believe a man could break a wanzer with his bare hands. Speaking of improbable emails, Dennis gets one too...


Norman Bates, eh? Dennis could blow her off, but that's not sporting...



Yeah, I have the feeling I know what manner of man this Norman Bates is.


Marcus gets an email too.




I don't know why, but every time I see this picture, it brings a smile to my face. Maybe it's because of how stupidly happy Marcus looks to be about abandoning his crying daughters...

: Oh, how cute. Is it from your daughter?
: Yup...
: Why are the girls crying?
: I-I don't see it.
It turns out that in addition to being a terrible army commander, he's also a terrible father. Really, you put Marcus in charge of anyone, you're just begging for trouble.


And Marcus is also apparently mildly racist since he seems to think "Kazuki = Japanese = Ninja!" And for that matter, aren't ninjas usually the bad guys in movies? Let's be honest, Marcus is just awful at everything.



And I'm glad Ivan told us everything he knew before we got him killed.
: Yeah, better thank us for that.
: I think Emma took it hard.
: ...
: She seems troubled.
: Hey! Shut up.
: Ouch! What was that for!?
And so our hero hits a child...again.
: It was too bad about Ivan.
: But we now know where Lukav is!
: Chong, we're returning to headquarters. I'm bringing the materials Ivan brought with him.
: Please send my regard to the commander. Will you commend us for our achievement?
: The commander will decide. I only report the facts.



Elsewhere, it's time to check in on Alisa and Lukav.
: How are you?
: How long do you plan to keep me here? Let me out!
: Still have the energy to complain, I see.
: Take me back to my brother.
: You are the key to my future. You and Emma both.
: ! What do you want? What will you do to my sister and me!?
: You don't know anything about your past, do you?
: My past? What about my past!?
: You'll find out when she gets here.
I mean, Lukav is far too busy to deliver that piece of exposition twice.
: Leave my sister alone!
: You are one of the chosen ones. Why are you so emotional? Stay here quietly.
: Wait! I'm still not... Oh... Kazuki... Emma... Please be safe...



Back to Guangzhou, yet again.



: About what?
: Bal's plan will affect us if we leave him alone.
: Huang, I have a favor to ask!
: What is it, Kazuki?
: Lukav might be at the Ravnui Embassy in Shanghai. We need to go to Shanghai!
: That's impossible.
: Why!?
: It's not easy to get to Shanghai.
: We'll be fine. We're experienced.
: Don't overestimate yourself!
: !
: Kazuki, the commander is right.
: Luo? But why?
: Listen to me. There are 3 possible routes to Shanghai from Guangzhou. One runs along the coastline. The Nanjing and Hanzhou forces, however, are inland, and Shanghai's naval forces will crush us, even with all of our units.
: So the defense line around Shanghai is perfect.
: The western route also passes the Chengdu and Lanzhou forces.
: What about the third option?
: ...A surprise attack on Wuhan, but...
: Would that even be possible?
: Yes, but the Rapid Reaction Force overwhelmed us in the past. The problem is that these special forces show up where there is no base.
: You can't figure out their point of origin?
: Even during Xiamen incident, they knew exactly where Ivan was. There must be a supply base nearby, but we're not sure.
: Then why don't we figure out their point of origin and attack there?
: We tried, but their response was always one step ahead of us.
: My goodness...
'My goodness' is not exactly the right response to 'no matter what we do, all of our troops keep getting killed.'



: Isn't there anything we can do!?
: Hey, don't yell.
: But we now have a specific target.
: All we have to do is find it and destroy it, then go to Lukav.
: Where's Emma?
: We should leave her alone right now.
: You're not gonna go bother her, are you, Kazuki?
: Don't tease me. Is Huang seriously consider attacking their home base?
: Of course. They're talkin' about takin' over the country.
: Can't we lure them out somehow?
: Act as a decoy and lure out the Rapid Reaction Force?
: We might be able to find their base.
: That's impossible!
Finding the location of a giant army base? What a hopeless dream!
: No. It might be worth a try.
: Dennis isn't being a naysayer.
: It's probably the sound thing to do.
: Let's get ready. Emma isn't back yet?
: Not yet.
: I'm going to look for her.
: Okay... Hey, don't be away too long!
: I-It's not like that!
Uh...Kazuki, the only two other female characters of note in the game are Yun and your sister, relationships with either would present certain...legal complications, so it might as well be 'like that.'



: ...Kazuki. Are you here to interrogate me again?
: Emma, are you still...?
: I'm fine now.
: You've seemed depressed since Yongding.
: Yes. It's not like me...
: Don't think about it too much.
: I can't stop thinking about Ivan.
: Why?
: ...You want to know?
: I-I mean, if you want to tell me.
: I'm teasing. But seriously... I need you to know this.
: ?
: From the moment I saw Ivan... I don't know, there was something familiar about him.
: Familiar?
: I don't know why. But it's not just Ivan.
: ?
: I felt the same way about the Imaginary Number in Guilin.
I think this goes a bit beyond foreshadowing at this point...
: You mean Serov?
: Yes. And Lukav, too...
: Lukav!?
: But I have no idea why I feel this way.
: Emma...
: I must not be making any sense.
: Don't worry. Let's head back. I think we have a plan to get to Shanghai.
: Shanghai... That's right! We have to rescue Alisa from Bal!
: Calm down, Emma. We still don't know if Alisa is with Bal.
: But Bal killed my parents! He's still conducting his insane experiments.
: I know. You know I want to rescue Alisa as much as you do. That's why we need to make this mission succeed.
I do enjoy that in this path, Kazuki wants to rescue Alisa, but he doesn't seem to show any real sense of urgency in doing so.
: Okay, Kazuki.



: I'm sorry, everyone.
: Heh heh heh... Did you guys have fun?
: Stop that laughing!
: Let's go talk to Huang.
: Yes.



It's about the party's last paycheck...it bounced.
: What is it?
: I want to lure out the Rapid Reaction Force.
: Do you understand the risk involved?
: Yes.
: You must have a specific plan. What is it?
: According to Luo, the west and the coastline are out.
: That's correct.
: Then why don't we try luring out the Rapid Reaction Force in Wuhan?
: We have already tried and failed many times.
: I'm not finished yet. We divide our forces into decoy and search squads. While the decoy squad fights the Rapid Reaction Force, the search squad tails them.
: Where would we lure them out?
: I recommend going through the Guangdong Province to Guangi Province, then from Guizhou to Hubei Province.
: Wandering around aimlessly won't do anything.
: Why don't we run a rumor that we're sending a transport squad to our branch in Zhangjiakou?
: Sure. So who will be the decoy?
: We'll do it.
: Are you insane? You'll be outnumbered.
: We'll retreat if it gets too dangerous. Our job is to distract the Rapid Reaction Force.
: And we'll observe the Rapid Reaction Force's movements.
: Yes. Let's get started!



Anyway, it's off to another locale, but hey, I've got a good feeling about this mission.



: Is it just going to be us? Are we going to be alright?
: You're awfully pessimistic.
: Yeah, yeah! You're always useless when we need you.
: Shut up! By the way, is it really okay for us to go through here?
: I think there's a broken bridge.
: It's a dead river.
: I'm sure it was beautiful long ago.
Just like the graphics in this game...
: Hehehe! That definitely doesn't sound like you. There's something up ahead!
: !



That is an ominously distinctive paint scheme...
: Did we get them?
: Wait, Kazuki. They aren't the RRF!
: Who is it!?
: You don't know? And you call yourselves mercenaries?
Oh, hateful Rebecca, it has been too long. Also, I don't think we're pretending to be mercenaries in this branch.
: They're worse than amateurs. I'm Rudolf.
: I'm Rebecca.
: We're...
: We're...
: ... the Wulong Mercenaries!
: The Wulong...
: You know them?
: Only rumors. Some mysterious elite merc squad. They're working for the DHZ, eh...
: Who we work for is none of your business.
: There's a juicy bounty on your heads. We're here to collect!
: What do we do, man? Should we rock 'em?
I'm not exactly sure what that's a euphemism for...but, yeah, sure, why not?
: We don't have much of a choice.
: I'm pretty good.
: You wanna try me?
Hmm...that just raises more questions about exactly what sort of rockin' we'll be doing.



Ryogo, Dennis, Jose and Marcus get the call. Sitting out both Kazuki and Yun does seem a bit dangerous, but I have total confidence in...well, we're doing it anyway. At the moment, there are only two enemy wanzers, Rudolf's Vinedrai, and Rebecca's Whisk. If I could swipe the Whisk, I would, but Rebecca won't let it go...



Ryogo isn't having a great time against Rebecca, then again, as long-time readers will recall, the Whisk parts are some of the best in the game, especially when it comes to power/HP ratio.



Rudolf's Vinedrai is considerably less threatening, especially since he has a rifle. Dennis takes him on in a battle of suck vs. suck.



And Ryogo gets ejected because, well, that's just how this game goes.



Boom. Marcus is finally getting enough levels in Melee to be the beast he was meant to be. I now only have one turn to finish off Rebecca, and I don't quite manage to do it. Damn. Cut-scene time!



The Wulong aren't as good as advertised, I guess, though this is nowhere near as humiliating as next time we fight.



Who is this mysterious pilot, who has come upon us in our moment of triumph?

: How could I have to lost such brigands... The Wulong aren't as great as they say, I see.
It's Liu! Well, Evil Liu, at any rate.
: Who are you!?
: So you're the ones that are troubling Master Bal.
: Bal! You know Bal!?
: I am Bal's personal security commander.
: I thought Lukav was Bal's partner?
: Lukav...? Nonsense. Don't mistake me for a puppet like him.
: Why are you after us?
: I only have business with you.
: ! What do you want with me!?
: Hmph, you really don't know? Oh well, It doesn't matter for someone who is about to die. By the way, I've disposed of those pests along the road.
: Huang's unit been eliminated!?
: It was over all too fast. I hope you last longer.
So, technically, our mission is already a failure, not that there was anything we could have done about it.



Rudolf and Rebecca leave, and are replaced by Liu in his trademark Shangdi 1, and a trio of Tiandongs armed with shotguns. Normally, putting a burst weapon on a melee wanzer isn't the best idea, because of the bad accuracy. However, since you guys are building the wanzers, I'm forced to make do with designs that are often less-than-robust, and thus especially poorly equipped to deal with these sorts of designs made for wars of attrition.



But, unlike in other occasions, these Tiandongs have shotguns, meaning that Jose, Ryogo and Dennis have superior range, and can thus wear them down with relative impunity, at least during the player phase.



Of course the enemy will still be able to move and shoot on its own turn, so you can't avoid all damage, but still, it does give my team a decisive advantage. Jose kills a Tiandong on a counter-attack.



And Dennis....still uses a rifle. Damn it.



A high rate of ejection plagues the enemy as well, and we're finally getting to the part of the game where I can take advantage of that fact. Plus, if you kill a guy outside of his wanzer, you get to keep the wanzer.



Jose succumbs. Such is life.



In response, Marcus shanks Liu.



And then shanks the last enemy too. Putting Marcus in prison would be a death sentence....for everyone else.



I'm conditioned to not waste my shield durability on burst weapons, and that sunk my average damage score. Marcus wins MVP.



: Yeah, that was definitely a tough one. Liu, eh? He's good...
He's a guy in a rifle wanzer. He could not be a less threatening sub-boss.
: I don't know if we can beat them again. Anyway, we're quite fatigued.
: Yeah, Let's go back to HQ before any more show up!

Next Time: Children Belong in War!

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