Part 41: BF36 – South Gate – Mountain Bypass

With Baldus' heavy defenses and the Court Magician Eudy's overwhelming firepower, the Royal Army could do nothing but regroup at Regnar Hills.

The Royal Army saw that breaking through the main gate would be difficult and decided to put Rosary's proposal into action. They split into two teams and begun their plan to capture the mighty Fortress of Ishnad.

What could that plan be...?







Only a select few know it's there.

I assume the Special Forces were privy to it, then?

Alright, let's go. Elena, you take point. I'll go with you. Yggdra, we'll need a diversion.

I understand. Leave it to me!







Yggdra and Durant both take food items. Yggdra will raise her Gen to 5, while Durant raises his Luk to 3. Since this level is also stupid, nobody gets any morale recovery.



We also bring this clown along. He has an important role. Besides the manditory characters, Yggdra, Milanor and Elena, we're bringing Durant and Cruz. Beyond that, we have one more slot, and that person is sure to take damage. We'll bring Nietzsche.

We should be fine if we get there while it's dark.

Master Milanor. You trust me? I'm an Imperial citizen. You're not worried this is a trap?

If it is, I guess I'm screwed, huh? This is our only plan. I'm not worried. Remember when we were going to save Yggdra? You were true to your word then, right?

Y-Yes, but...

If this was a trap, you coulda sprung it a hundred times now. But you haven't, so I trust you. Plus, Yggdra's never doubted you, and she's the boss.

….........

Sheesh, I'd be in trouble if this was a trap, though... I have no idea where we are... I'd be stranded here!

Haha... That's true.



Well, let's get on with it. Just to our north is this little band of misfits. The Valkyries are normal, but this Knight has protect status. He's unkillable no matter what we do.







Durant and Yggdra eat their items, and Durant charges the Valkyries solo. Durant will be the MVP for this map, since this is pretty much the only combat that occurs. It's a 4 on 1, but with the road and weapon advantages, Durant will be fine.

He defeats the first one entirely, but the next three barely survive.

Evening comes. Milanor and Elena both reach their waypoints.



Meanwhile, everyone else makes their way to the bridge where we initially fought Baldus. They sneak through the cannon range at night.





The next day, Yggdra reaches the one safe-point. She has the most morale, so this minimizes damage.



Durant isn't lucky enough for a safe area, though. Fortunately, his morale is so low, the cannon does only a couple points of damage.



He makes it to a point on the bridge, away from Baldus and his forces, the same time Nietzsche and Cruz reach the cannon.



And this is where Cruz becomes a hero. Single handedly he charges the Guardian Knights. After all, it was his tactical brilliance to suggest an attack at night.







Shocking, isn't it. But also very important.



Nietzsche finishes the turn by reaching her spot on the bridge.

General Baldus, the Royal Army has crossed the bridge!

We'll cut off their retreat. Destroy the bridge.

Yes, Sir!





We've got them where we want them... Press the attack!

Princess Yggdra, the bridge...!

Our means of escape is gone. We must keep them occupied until the time comes. Hold fast, everyone! Our goal is to buy time! Milanor, Elena... we're in your hands now.

Good, now raise the fences. Box the enemy in!

Yes, Sir!



Alright! Then, lead the way!

Master Milanor, we must take care to move only at night. Moving during the day could attract the guards' attention.

Yeah, good call.





Last mission was dumb. This mission gets a whole lot dumber, and it starts now. Milanor and Elena need to get through the mountain pass, but they can only travel at night. The problem?



Even during the night, they can only travel two tiles at a time... All the while, Yggdra's forces are being barraged by cannons, and Baldus' nigh-unkillable forces..



At least we dealt with the Baldus problem by having a party member retreat. The Guardian Knights are stationary, and won't fill up this gap left by Cruz.

We must take caution.

If they figure out what we're up to, it's all over.



The next branch opens up, but it's day. If you try to move...

Master Milanor, we shouldn't move during the day.

You're right. They mustn't figure out what we're doing.

You're stopped.

Well, a few days pass, Eudy's cannon firing non-stop.



Milanor and Elena get another two spaces closer to their target.

Next nightfall...











A-Another mountain road, huh...

Hurry. Our forces can't last long.

Oh yeah. Let's go!

Princess! Esq. Milanor is on the mountain road.

Well done, Milanor. Our role is to keep the enemy distracted! Don't let up!



So, yeah. Not even the quick clear MVP bonus. There's actually only one turn order in which it's possible...

To get it, you need to have all non-essential party members killed before the first nightfall, by the Valkyries. You pretty much need to bring them along in the previous level, just to get their ass kicked by the cannon and Baldus. The Valkyries in this stage don't do a lot of damage, so they all have to be low to be defeated.

With just Yggdra, she can reach the bridge, while Milanor and Elena get to their waypoint, all by the first nightfall.

Loot

None. But if you didn't get the dud or Baldus's shield, he has it now.

Notes

The second last stupid level. We actually get a reprieve from them for a while, and the next few missions are quite good. By having everyone reach the bridge during night, it gives you an extra turn to move Milanor and Elena, and you take the minimum number of shots from Eudy's cannon – 6! Yeah, fuck this level. Most of the time you see a cannon, it's designed to create a movement obstacle, or a place to blitz and get out. You rarely need to take more than a few shots each time, and can generally be avoided entirely if you pace yourself, or wait for nightfall. They rarely throw it at you just to force damage.

Anyways, the best strategy I can think of is to bring an expendable character, like Cruz, and get him knocked out on the way there. With that missing unit, you can safely avoid Baldus at least. Don't bring any high-morale party members, either, unless you want the MVP award going to them. They can snipe a few Valkyries on the way to the rendezvous point. When your morale is low enough, such as Durant's, cannon fire is trivial. I could've brought Mistel, for example, but with a few thousand morale she's be losing a lot more.


Anyways, that level is short, boring, and non-eventful. Let's go straight into the next – which is merely short..