Part 9: BF9 – White Rose Domain

With the help of the Royal Army and the tremendous power of the Black Rose's prized Ankh, the White Rose-Imperial Army alliance was annihilated, and Rosary retreated to her home territory.

Sensing danger from the house of the White Rose's alliance with the Empire, the Royal Army headed for the White Rose Manor to seek the truth behind the war and convince Rosary to end the conflict.

However, dire news reached Rosary during her meeting with Yggdra. Under cover of darkness, Roswell, head of the house of the Black Rose, had begun an invasion of the White Rose Domain.







This bodes ill. I didn't expect civil war to break out... Verlaine Hills is in no state to help us.

I agree. More importantly, if this conflict continues...

Lord Roswell will shoot that Ankh thing all over the place. You saw what it does. It's a bigger threat than any enemy. If he's not careful, this place is just gonna be...

Another Lost Aries...

Exactly.

We must prevent that from happening... Durant, can we meet with the ruler of the White Rose?

You mean Lady Rosary, of the house of Esmeralda?

We just trashed her army... You think she'll want to chat?

As long as we go by ourselves. We must try, at least. Because... I also want to know why a Dragon General was here...

I agree. It's a matter worth pursuing. I will arrange a meeting with Lady Rosary.



You know nothing... How dare you speak to me this way. Anyway, if you hadn't meddled, this would already be over.

But... Didn't you see the power of the Ankh? If the war continues, this whole land will be destroyed.

I'm quite aware of that. I'll finish it before that happens...

You have no intention of backing down?

Well... It all depends on his... Roswell's... attitude.





What's wrong? You're hurt...!

Messenger: The-The Black Rose Army is... They're coming!

What!? What happened to the patrol unit!?

Messenger: They were decimated... The enemy... is almost here...



H-Hey! Snap out of it! That's an order! O-Open your eyes!

…...!

…......... …He wants a battle, does he...? I'll give him one!

Wait! Let us talk to Roswell! We'll persuade him to withdraw his troops!

What are you talking about? They're already here! It's too late for negotiations! I'm going!



Hurry and intercept the enemy!



Now there's a man bent on revenge...

I'm concerned... They're too well prepared. It hasn't been that long since the last battle.

You're right. Something's fishy here...

Princess, what should we do?

We shall go, too. This time... We must protect the people of the White Rose!






Yggdra has really shitty luck, and she has really shitty luck for the entire game unless we do something about it. She has no need for other equipment right now, and while it's hardly an ideal time to give her a food item, her growth rate is so unbelievable bad she won't hit 2 Luk for at least 10 or so battles – probably more. She'll be pretty greedy for Luk Up food.



The starting location of your supporting units isn't fixed – it's based on the order you select them. It's beneficial in this battle to select Nietzsche first, before Durant.



Rockpiles on one side, walking corpses on the other... Sheesh.

What should we do...?

You there! If you're going to get in the way, leave now!

But... They're already right here! If we don't stop them, this'll be so much scorched earth!

Don't you think I know that!? That's why I'm having my golems destroy the bridges. If you must help, hold them off until the bridges fall. Got that? If the golems are destroyed, we're lost.



I understand. We shall do it!

Alright... let's buy some time!

Let's go!



Rosary gets the first turn, and the golems lumber forward.

We can see here that Nietzsche started on the same side as Yggdra. This is good, because the terrain will allow the two of them to form unions with Nietzsche in the water. Likewise for Durant and Milanor, with Durant on the bridge..



And here's Rosary now, just for curiosity's sake. She won't see any action. Her golems are looking weak at 2,2,1,1, but they won't see any combat either. This time they're named Doom and Destroyer.





Roswell's not as strong as Rosary in the stats department, but his Gargoyle Rod gives him Night , so he'll be a force regardless since this level is locked into Night. Also note his movement now – Warp. During the night, Necromancers warp from tile to tile. Every time they move, they disappear over odd-numbered steps, and reappear on even numbers. It allows them to pass through enemies, obstacles, or even through impassable tiles of the map. It's pretty sweet when used carefully. You have to plan ahead, though, since you won't be able to step on odd-numbered steps. During the day, they have the regular Walk movement.

I don't think he moves at all this mission, so we won't see it yet.

Skeletons are pretty weak, but their 3 Tec and 3 Luk allows for powerful charges, and they critical hit fairly commonly. They're immune to status, like golems, with the exception that during the day they are always asleep. They are also weak against Necromancers, and Holy damage. Also like Golems, they use lump weapons, and can't form unions.

Listen up. While the golems are smashing the bridges... It's our job to stop the enemy from crossing them. Let's go!



Tch... These guys give me the creeps!

Milanor moves up to the front, and Durant lags behind, capturing the bridge. This round won't pose any problems.





As predicted, the Skeletons can put up a decent counter attack, but they don't have the Atk to make it stick.



Should I try eating this?



Nietzsche heads up to the water north of the bridge, and Yggdra takes the bridge. Yggdra is lagging behind in levels, so I'd like her to be the focus of some Skeleton combat. Nietzsche will still be around in case the battle goes sour. To get the quick clear bonus – 23 turns, it's pretty essential to kill a skeleton on every one of our turns, and kill one when they attack us on their turn.





I don't think Milanor subscribes to http://www.somethingawful.com/d/pho...zine-mayhem.php or he'd have been better prepared. Roswell's card, Necro Gate, has 1500 power. It takes a bite out of Milanor's morale, and drops him to 1583.



Durant is literate and knows how to take care of the undead. Thanks to a clear victory, and Revolution's power, the East flank is now clear of Skeletons.



And the Golems continue on their path. The West Golem can get to the bridge in two more turns, providing Yggdra gets off it. The East one will finish up in three turns. We'll have this map cleaned out by then.



This will be a good time for Shield Barrier. We just need Milanor to get into this fork in the road, and then move Yggdra and Nietzsche into combat positions.



What is this? Is this what human bones look like?

W-Will my blade even work on them?

Nietzsche still gets her water tile, and Yggdra deals Holy power on aggressive. The skill is better spent with Shield Barrier, but either way Yggdra will chainsaw through them.







Mediocre opening by both sides, but it'll grant us the time we need to passively fill our skill gauge. When the skeleton hits Rage, we'll turn Shield Barrier on and continue on to an easy win. The skeleton isn't quite defeated though, so Nietzsche cleans up.



The remainder of the movement will be used to bring Durant a little closer, leaving the bridge.



The last skeleton attacks Nietzsche.
It dies.



OH ho ho ho, don't you love this guy yet?

Look! It's...

That bounty hunter again!? Her sure seems to love his job... I bet I can change that!



Here's the reasoning for Milanor's position, and Shield Barrier. Mizer brings along a 4 Tec, so if we want to avoid being paralyzed we need to block it. His minion attacks first, which will leave Milanor at a penalty, but our odds are good each time.



The bandit barely scratches Milanor, and drops his medallion.










Mizer leads with a strong charge, but we have Shield Barrier ready. I time it a little late, but again I activate it at the sweet spot right after the E in Rage. It absorbs the rest of Mizer's Rage damage, as well as Thunderbolt.

It's still a close fight. After Thunderbolt is cast and Shield Barrier wears off, Milanor fights against a 5-6 disadvantage and wins with his 1 Atk lead, and better weapon.



So then Mizer walks up and pillages his minion's medallion.



The Golems are getting close.



Mizer still can't put his greatest strength – Day - to work here. His stats are all-around pretty good, but now it's our turn. With his middle-ish Atk, and no ability to counter attack, he'll take a beating from any attack we throw at him.



Using Mind Change, we get Milanor and Durant into diagonal positions. Milanor stops right in front of Roswell, who doesn't even say hello. What a douche.

Nietzsche gets on the ground and leads the charge. We have overwhelmingly good odds.





Mizer's Thunderbolt brings some pain and paralyzes both characters, but he still falls to both of them.






Milanor shows him the door.



Roswell, not quite as passive as Rosary, gets into the action. He has the slight combat edge vs Milanor, but is quite even against Durant.





He warps into combat and takes a small lead against Milanor.



Both sides are Small Males, and we're using Mind Change. We also have Tec greater than Roswell's Gen, so we have a good opportunity to use Mind Change.







That 1 lead still brought over 3 units. The RNG smiles upon us.



But Roswell takes down the traitors, and one more for good measure.





Durant doesn't fair quite as well. He held the lead until Roswell used Necro Gate, which killed a knight. Durant is still looking well with 3403 morale.



Gwoooooh!

Rosary's first Golem manages to take out the bridge, and then sinks to the bottom of the river.

They've destroyed one of the bridges!

Alright, just one more! Don't let any of 'em slip through!


Yggdra didn't get as much skeleton combat as I wanted, so we might as well get some Exp off of Roswell. I picked the under used Banish this time, because it is a source of Holy Damage. With Yggdra leading, we satisfy Banish's Sword Ace, so everyone can use its effects. Its power is weak, but we have a large union facing just Roswell. Durant is still paralyzed, so can't get in position to join in.



Yggdra's battle starts off poorly.





But we manage to use Banish while we still have a surviving Valkyrie. Necromancers are weak to Holy Damage, and so Roswell takes Fatal Damage from the attack – losing all of his allies. It's now a 2-1, which is much closer odds. Yggdra ends up victorious, but just barely.





Nietzsche's not going to fuck around. When Banish is used this time, the Necromancers just melt.





Milanor gets the opportunity to use Banish on Roswell himself. With no other Necromancers to take the damage, Roswell is immediately defeated.



It's not his time to be defeated, though. Sometimes the enemy will have Morale Protect status, and will be unable to be defeated. This usually happens while waiting for plot to activate, or to prevent sequence breaking.



While we can't defeat Roswell, we can still earn Exp for combat. Let's see if we can repeat the 3-0 against Roswell's attack.







Yggdra isn't so lucky this time. Roswell cancelled Banish's charge with a Flash Attack. Since she couldn't fight Roswell 2-1, Roswell's superior weapon gave him the victory. By taking out 6 units, though, we prevented 6 * 8 = 48% * 1500 = 720 damage.







Nietzsche has a similar attack, and battles Roswell mano e fish-girl. She gets a lucky Flash Attack off near the end, and takes him out.

Milanor doesn't have any problems, so we end this round with only one defeat.



Both Yggdra and Milanor are getting close to a level up. Yggdra will probably gain a level if she can defeat Roswell once more.



Gwoooooh!



Looks like they made it!



Tch... We're too late.

The bridges have been destroyed!

Ha! All they can do is stare at those bridges like dopes. If that's settled, then next up is...

Look! Over there!

That's... Leon the Black Knight! The Empire is with them, too!?

I knew it! The Empire is behind all of this!



I never thought I'd run into her here...



Leon! What's your scheme this time!?

Scheme? Hell, I just heard there was a war and wanted in! I'm coming for you, so run while you still can!




Leon gets a turn, but with Roswell in the way he can't do much.





No prizes if you guess what happens.



With 3 Atk and Tec, Leon's made for combat. His Chariot card brings the enemy unit count down to his. For example, if Milanor is against Leon 7 vs 2, and Leon uses Chariot, Milanor goes down to 2. Since Large characters are stronger than small characters, this leaves Leon in favour.

His Assassins are 1,1,3,3 – with the benefit of Night . The Knights are boring with 2,2,2,1, but can also use Chariot.



First things first, I need to get Roswell out of the way. Leon's arrival was the plot point to remove morale protect, so I can defeat him now. Shield Barrier does the trick.



It's a close battle, but Yggdra is victorious. The +atk will finally bring her up to 3 Atk, and the difference will be substantial.





Durant's paralysis is removed with the situation change, so he runs in to the front. When he is attacked, Nietzsche and Milanor will help. The Assassin will likely be the difficult encounter, if any join in. They have their Night and we can't counterattack, so I'm hoping Nietzsche goes up against them. The Gungnir that's still equipped with double Shield Barrier's length, which could provide the advantage we'd need.



Leon's forces arrange themselves into a small union. The AI could easily have fit two more units in, which would've made it a 4 vs 3. Nietzsche does get the Assassin.



Durant has the superior stats, so handily wins against the Knight. He doesn't quite take him out, though.



As I thought, the Assassins prove to be the hard fight.





The double length Shield Barrier wins the day, and the Assassin is gone.






Chariot takes a huge toll on Milanor, but again Shield Barrier comes to the rescue. While we didn't have the skill full to use it before Chariot, we can still use it afterward to finish the fight.



And the enemy rearranges itself. The Assassin will be free from our attacks, but Leon moved into the corner and will fight with the other Knight.



Damn, he's a beast! Where did he get all that power?

Actually, I find him the easiest of the Empire's generals. We haven't taken damage since they showed up, anyways.

Princess! Stay back!

No... I can still fight!

Everything is ready now, Ms. Rosary.





This light...!

You don't mean...!

U-Urgh...!?

Arrrrgh!

The White Rose had one up her sleeve, too!?

An Ankh...!

Surprise, surprise. If I had engaged Leon before this point, he'd have morale protect status at 1 morale. The Ankh firing triggers his vulnerability.



Using Mind Change this turn, Durant will pretty much have a guaranteed win against the last Knight. Nietzsche won't have anything great to use against Leon, but her stats are higher. Milanor is in the same boat, but has better stats and the weapon advantage.

This is only turn 20, so we have our next turn and two of Leon's turns to get the Quick Clear bonus.







Durant didn't need to use Mind Change to kill his opponent, so Nietzsche had most of a skill bar to use for Aggressive mode. It gives her the advantage she needs to take down Leon, but he stays in the map with 828 morale.





Milanor starts off strong, but Leon is almost ready to use Chariot. I have Milanor go passive because we'll want to go full aggressive when the numbers are equalized.







It works. We have a 6 level combat advantage against Leon, and he falls.



Milanor levels up, but doesn't gain any Big Stars.





That was too close for my liking...

Even the Black Knight has to turn tail against that thing.

Is Rosary alright? We should discuss this with her.

No kidding...


That should max out Milanor's Gen. He'll be all-6 by the end of the game now. He'll probably get more MVPs regardless, because I depend on him a little too much, but I wouldn't mind some Atk bonuses still.
The Ankh is a means of raising one's magical power. If I could collect both of them... I'd be mightier than Valois, our common ancestor.

Then, you're fighting over that Ankh...?

Not just me! Roswell wants them, too, but he won't get mine.

You've both got one... Why not just call it even?

Why, power like this is the heart's desire of any magician. And of course, I have my domain to protect as well. Roswell is my rival... Naturally, I can't back down.

*sigh* Neither side seems to be willing to call if off...

Reaching the Lenessey Mountains won't be easy...

Don't forget, we've gotta find out what the Empire's up to.

We cannot leave things the way they are.

You're right. But what can we do...?

Loot


Ranger Boots: An all around defensive boost for 2 maps, but nothing exciting.


Gargoyle Rod: Boosts to Atk and Tec, with losses in Gen and Luk. The big thing here is the Night ability, which can be very useful. Lasts 3 maps.


Phalanx: Minor stat boosts, and is great against archers. I'm trying to think of a time where Archers are much of a threat, and drawing a blank. Lasts 3 maps.


Wretched souls pounding at Hell's gate... It is I who hold the key! - the Necromancer Gnelda
Deals 2 units of damage, and can summon an NPC Skeleton. Can only be used at night, which is a little restrictive compared to the yet ungained Doll Craft. High movement, though, so it's good if we have a Necromancer.


O iron centaur trampling the battlefield... They spear pierces steel and flesh alike. - Gallad, the Steel Knight
Chariot: Has 9 movement, and starts off with decent power. It's a nice card if you're a heavy Durant user, and can be used much the same way that Revolution can – except that Durant is stronger one on one than most other units.

Closing Notes

There shouldn't be any huge concerns over this level. Mizer, as usual, is annoying but still easy to deal with.

Skeletons are weak enough, but it's not rare to see a critical hit come from them with their 3 Luk.

Roswell has both weapon advantage, and the Night advantage. At the very least Milanor and Durant should have better stats, and with a little card help Roswell will be easy to deal with. You can always steal his Gargoyle Rod to take him down a notch, too, but his Gen will go up higher in that case.

Leon's kinda a joke, with Milanor on the field. His Assassins are the only thing to watch out for, since it's locked Night.