Part 31: BF27 – Gate of Atonement

After getting information on Yggdra's whereabouts in the Land of Ruin, the Royal Army quickly mobilized their forces and closed in on the Gates of Atonement.

However, the Gates were being protected by Leon and his Black Cavalry, with Emelia waiting further on at Fort Baldoc.

By the time the Royal Army reached Fort Baldoc, someone had already engaged the Imperial Army: Elena, the Imperial traitor from the Valley of Lament.







That must be the fortress that Lady Kylier mentioned.

Hm? Look over there... Isn't that Elena?



...That assassin... Is she fighting the fort's guards?

She looks like she's in trouble.

Reporting in, Sirs! Emelia's aerial division is protecting the fort!

What!? Then, Elena is up against the Imperial Army!

Very well, we shall help... But, the princess is our priority! Let us sally forth!

Yeah, let's go!





We'll start off by giving this to Durant. Why? Why not. And he's lagging a little bit behind Milanor and Mistel, so this will give him a bit of a boost.



Everyone! Catch her and teach her a lesson!

Tch... I'll never stop Brother at this rate...



Of course, Emelia gets to go first. Elena's easily the most capable character we run into this chapter, but she doesn't defend well.



Luckily, only two units attack. Elena puts up a decent fight against the Griffon, but gets cursed for her trouble. The Valkyrie then has no issues, and takes Elena down to 3204 morale.



Emelia is actually a half-threatening opponent this time. Her attack's not high, but it isn't bad. 4 Tec and Gravity Chaos, though, can mess up some units, and her 5 Luk gives her a near unending barrage of Flash Attacks, and a high Critical Hit chance. It also means we need to Steal from her, as no one in the group has 5 Luk right now.

Her forces are the usual rabble of 2s and 3s.

One of my goals for this mission is to have Mistel gain another MVP, and try to have Durant in combat every round to use that +2 Exp on his weapon. Milanor can sit out as much as possible, since he's nicely ahead of everyone. Kylier doesn't need to do anything at all, but can stand by for support.




Oblivious Dawn has enough movement to get Mistel and Durant in for the attack, and has enough left over for Durant to rescue Elena after the attack. In the unlikely event Mistel and Durant don't eliminate the two foes entirely, Elena and Milanor will clean up. We also have a catapult, thanks to Elena's link.





Both enemies fall completely, and Durant rushes forth to rescue Elena.



No harm will come to you, if you do not interfere with us.

...I understand.



Let us hurry and capture the fort!

Let's go, everyone!



Go ahead and try, Royal Army! I'll show all of you!

Don't blame me if you run him crying!



Elena joins us for the rest of this mission, and she's not in bad form right now. Her Atk and Tec are both being inflated by her Meteor, but when she hits level 12 her Atk will naturally rise to 3. It's worth it for her to participate as much as possible now, for the Exp.



And with that, Elena will lead the attack against her former allies. We also have 2 catapults on our side, so this attack shouldn't be much of an issue.

When the leading Witch falls, Milanor will be able to run up to Emelia to defend her attack. That will be our chance to use Steal.







They pretty much all go like this. Emelia survives with about half morale, and her other Witch hangs in there with a couple hundred.



Milanor gets into position against Emelia. Steal will still be active on our opponent's turn, so we'll be able to Steal from Emelia when she attacks.

Hey! Where are you keeping Yggdra!?

I'm not gonna tell you!





As I'd though, her high Luk makes charging a slow ability like Steal painfully annoying. She might get herself killed before we have the chance to use it.



We barely pull it off, and Emelia falls.





Our next turn comes up, and we're supposed to capture the fort Emelia was guarding. Before we do that, we'll use some of our extra movement to have Kylier do some exploring.

Hm? What is it, boy?

Al: Squaww-awwwk!

Eh? Check under here? Let's see...



Great job, Al!

Al: Squawk!

And with that, Durant will capture the fort.





So, that huge thing's the Gate of Atonement...

Master Milanor.

...I heard. You're the Black Knight's sister?

Leon's? Then, why...?

You have to tell us, Elena. We need to be able to trust you.

...I... ...I can't forgive my brother. He terrorizes both his enemies and his allies. He shows no mercy to soldiers of civilians. He even tortures the civilians he captures... He's changed so much... But, I couldn't just let him be. So...

...So, you thought you'd kill him yourself.

I joined the Special Forces and waited for a chance.

What now? Surely you can't return to the Empire?

I must stop my brother... Please, let me go with you!

But... how are we to trust a former Imperial assassin? Zilva's Special Forces are composed of trained killers. Who's to say you won't murder us in our sleep?

That's an awfully indirect plan for the Empire, isn't it? If they were going to kill us, they'd just do it straight on. How 'bout we let Yggdra decide?

Let the Princess decide?

If she says no, then Elena goes her own way. Of course, we gotta find Yggdra first.

...That's true. We don't have much time to spare. Then, Lady Elena... We'll accept your help for now. However, if you betray us, I shall show no mercy.

Damnit Durant, you don't like any of the cool characters, do you?

I understand. I know what it means to betray someone...

…......... The Black Knight is waiting for us up ahead. One way or the other, you'll have to settle this soon.

Yes...



Elena!? You're one of the Kingdom's dogs now, too!?

Brother...

You really think you can beat me? I don't care if you're my sister. You're gonna die!

Elena, you don't have to do this yourself...

No... I'm alright. He must be stopped...



Leon's no slouch this time, either. However, his Silvia is increasing both his Atk and Tec, while lowering his Luk. By stealing that, it really drops him down a notch.



It's night, and we're in good position, so it's the perfect time to show off Bloody Claw. While it can be dangerous to have Elena lead a charge when there's a chance she'll take a counter attack next round, between the Assassin's Bloody Claw, and their Night , she's one of the strongest characters on the field.











The first four clashes go smoothly, and everyone is defeated except Durant's opponent. All that's left is Elena vs. Leon.







And it immediately goes bad. Before we have a chance to do anything, Leon uses Chariot. Elena is at both a weapon and stat disadvantage against Leon, and Leon evens the numbers with this.



Thankfully, Elena's Night tips the balance enough for her to keep fighting. We charge Bloody Claw, and wait for Leon's last Knight to fall.













Bloody Claw immediately kills the unit head, preventing card skills, flash attacks and severely damaging the unit, but if used to win the battle you get also get a hefty damage bonus.



The enemy attacks back, and we can see Elena is predicted to do well. In fact, the only battle that might be an issue is the Assassin vs. Mistel? Madness.



It's close, but with no weapon advantage, against both a Night and MAX bar, and having no ability to counterattack, Mistel goes down.

Everyone else is victorious, and the Knights go down.



The remaining Assassins group like so, and Leon's turn ends.



They all go without issue. Both Assassins are defeated, and Mistel and Milanor are both victorious against Leon. Together, they bring him down to half morale.



Over the next couple turns, Durant waits up north, and Mistel goes down south. It doesn't look like there's anything there, but that will change.



This map has two towns that only appear at night.



Dweller of the Night: This village can only be entered at night. What's your story? You want to make a contract with me?



Dweller of the Night: Congrats. The power of darkness is yours... *chuckle*



Dweller of the Night: You look like brave boys and girls... How lovely! Want to swap something for what I've got? You give me an item, and I'll give you my treasure! Doesn't that sound like fun?



Dweller of the Night: This is a metal found only in the Netherworld! It's yours!

The village in the south will take one random item, in exchange for theirs. You light luck out, and they'll take a shitty item like the blindfold. They might also take the Dragon Eater.

We lost the Ipponki,



which I don't feel too bad about.

They also have two different items, depending on your Total Reputation. If you have 12 or more, like we did, you get the Dark Matter. If you have less, you get the Uncanny Fruit – a food item that increases a stat at random. It's possible to get one item, and then lose / win fights as appropriate and still get the other. We're sitting at about 19 or 20 right now, so that would involve losing against Leon with at least 2 characters. I don't find it worth the morale loss, so we'll skip it.

Milanor presses against Leon.

Black Knight! Let's finish this once and for all!

Ha! Cocky as ever, kid!



Milanor goes first and will steal Leon's spear. At that point, Elena should be able to finish him off. Durant moved down just to link the catapult into the union.



Between the catapult and Milanor's charge, Leon's down to himself. We have to go passive quickly to steal.



And Leon falls while we're charging. Stealing really starts being an issue at this point of the game. Between Milanor's power, and Steal's slow charge time, many opponents can fall before you have the chance to use it.

It's ok in our case, since Leon has only 1 Luk, but it can be a problem later.



Elena ends the fight in one shot.











The Black Cavalry is no more!

He was a terrible foe until the end...

Was I able to stop my brother...? ...Did I really do the right thing? ...Leon...

We're going to Galleon Prison. Elena... What about you?

Your mission is complete. You have no reason to stay.

God damnit, Durant.

Please, give me time. I want to bury my brother... After that, I will catch up with you. Please, go ahead.

Of course. Let's go, guys.

See you later.

What? Kylier, you've come this far, and now this again?

I don't want anything to do with saving that princess. I came 'cause I was worried about you, dumbass!

Wha...?

If you like that princess so much, go ahead! C'mon, Al!



...Geez, suit yourself!



Elena and Durant both came close to gaining a new level, and Mistel won MVP. All in all, a smooth battlefield.

Loot:


Mana Stone: Used for trading.


Dark Matter: Used for trading.


Small Breastplate: Originally, only Nietzsche could wear this piece. Now, with Pamela, you can fix one of her only weaknesses with it. Good for 2 maps.


Silvia: The stats really play to Durant's strengths, and X Lowers Gauge can be worked around. It has no effect if you're full, passive, or aggressive. Overall, it's not bad for 2 stats up, since Durant's Luk is dismal anyways. Lasts 2 maps.


Bewitching demon of the night... Seduce they victims, drowning them in pleasure – Vanessa, Empress of Darkness
Kiss of Death: It's an odd card, and some people swear by it as a type of trump card. Let's look at the basic stuff, first. Starts with a high power - I only have a handful of cards in the 3000's right now - and a lower movement. Anyone can ace and use it, but only at night. Now, for the effect, the character that uses it loses all of their Rep. While that 7.77 second timer is counting down, you are stronger and your enemy is weaker. Also during this time, the enemy can't use card skills. If the fight ends before the timer runs out, good. No problem. If the timer runs out and you're still fighting, your head dies. Still, if you're having issues against Genocide, Revolution, or the like, this can buy you some time.

Notes

Let's be honest here... Chapter 4 is probably the low point of the game. You spend most of it running around avoiding combat, and collecting shit characters. There's barely a single combat encounter you run into that's more than a speed bump. And it's long – chapter 4 started with BF19. We're heading to BF28.

And then you get into this battle. It's not a difficult level, but things start looking up. You get a taste of using Elena, and you just catapult and critical hit your way through swathes of enemies. This level was actually fun, and next level is actually difficult.

Rescuing Elena – Using a card with 10 Mov or more, you should easily be able to attack the first set of troops, and move to Elena to rescue her. You get a turn immediately after, so you can prevent Elena from taking any more unnecessary morale loss. If you're having issues with the combat, Durant can also run straight past and rescue her anyways.

Against Emelia's forces – The only thing you need to worry about here is that Witch that's guarding Emelia. If she stays alive, and you lead your first attack with Elena, You'll probably be up against a bad counterattack. If you don't think you can wipe out that Witch in one attack, it's probably best to not lead with Elena. In general, you don't want her in defensive unions at all, unless it's night or against staff users.

Against Emelia – She has a high Luk, but that's probably all that's too out of the ordinary. Watch out for Gravity Chaos and her Critical hits, and you'll do fine.

Against Leon – Chariot can really cause issues, but you have plenty of advantages against him. Most of the map is Wasteland, ripe for Milanor. Elena also takes him to school, especially at night. His stats aren't too high if you steal from him, but the fort he's on does reduce his damage taken quite a bit. Keep hammering him with small unions that you're sure can overcome chariot, and he'll fall soon enough. You can also pull 2 catapults into your union.