Part 48: BF43 – Imperial Capital of Flarewerk

Kylier's suicide attack destroyed the Ankh Cannon, and the resulting explosion destroyed the Arc of Triumph as well as the northeast portion of the Imperial Capital.

The Royal Army broke through the collapsed monument and advanced into the Imperial Capital of Flarewerk en route to Castle Bronquia.

Meanwhile, Gulcasa, the Emperor of Carnage, had escaped the Ankh Cannon's explosion and strengthened Castle Bronquia's gates. He sent two warriors into the city to further delay the Royal Army.

They were the Twin Valkyries, Luciana and Aegina.







That way lies Gulcasa's Castle Bronquia.

Finally... We've come so far and sacrificed so much. Kylier and the rest of my men will no have died in vain!

The Imperial Army is taking positions in the streets!

Who's commanding them?

Umm... We believe it to be Aegina, but...

...Believe? What are you trying to say?

Well, er... Just look for yourself!





There are two Aeginas!

What is the meaning of this!?

…......... I suspected something was wrong. Aegina lost an eye to Elena's ambush. Yet soon afterward, she reappeared without a scratch.

Now that you mention it...

The two Aegina's are most likely twin sisters. We never realized because they alternated their attacks.

Twins... That explains how they attacked so repeatedly. My stars... Two valkyries with the same abilities... This will be a hard-fought battle.

We must emerge victorious. For those who have lost their lives... We cannot lose this battle!





Not a lot of prep work to do. However, this item will cover Yggdra for the rest of this campaign, and give her crucial fire immunity.





While we're at it, we'll make them pay for your right eye.

Look at her... A loving family, a palace for a home... Never knowing how close we came to being killed...

We'll make her rue the day she was born, sister!



Luciana guards the northern road, and will ultimately be our first target. High Tec, and high Atk, but at this point is really only a challenge for Milanor.



Aegina is to the south, and we'll deal with her after her sister. She's more balanced than Luciana, but all that means is that she'll likely be easier.



While Luciana will be our primary focus, we'll hit the south with Gravity Chaos to cripple their front line. Both sisters are also brought into the union.







The first three encounters are completely trivial.





Yggdra also makes quick work of Luciana. She would have done a fatal 8480 damage, but for the Town she is fighting on.



Elena takes the first casualty this mission, against Aegina. Let's remember that Valkries are weak against Dark attacks, which Gravity Chaos is. Also, Elena has the Nightmare, increasing her Dark damage.



The combination is more than Aegina can handle. Overkill damage, which is rare, completely obliterates the opposing force.



She's faring better than her sister, which isn't a problem. We'll change our focus next turn, and deal with Luciana.



We can't attack Luciana directly yet, so we'll deal with this chunk of her forces. Only the Undine will survive, thanks to her Water GEO bonus. After combat, Yggdra will walk to the front to engage Luciana.

You're so naïve... How could the sword and tiara accept you!?

I may have been sheltered as a child... But my journey here has been more than enough education. There is pain and suffering in this world I'd never imagined...

….........



Luciana's Undine attacks Yggdra. It should be an easy battle, thanks to Crusade. Durant and Mistel are both more than prepared for Luciana.



Finally, another chance to Crusade something. The Undine still survives, but barely.





Luciana is looking terrible after her charge. To make matters worse for her, Durant's Rosary of Hope activated, providing him with a full skill gauge. In my brief testing, it seems to activate nearly half the time, which is quite good.



Durant deals with Luciana before she can use Revolution.











Luciana!? Don't go! Please, open your eyes...! No... this can't be! No...!

We have an opening! Advance through the streets!

Aegina, withdraw into the castle.

What?

We'll settle this inside. Fall back into Castle Bronquia.

But... I've yet to avenge Luciana! I deserve to stand fast against these worms, as my sister did!

No, the situation calls for our last resort.

But...!

I need your support on this, Aegina. This is a direct order: retreat into Castle Bronquia.

...Y-Yes, Sir.

Commander Aegina...

...We are withdrawing into Castle Bronquia. Fall back!

Yes, Ma'am!





They're withdrawing into the castle!

Princess! This is our chance to get inside!

Follow them, everyone!

The next turn is simply traveling to the castle. Yggdra approaches from the South, while Durant follows the northern road.



Identical to how we already saw her, but with High Status. While not a living wall like Baldus, her 40% Fort Geo will require a similar strategy – start with a good counter, and then a strong attack.



Gravity Chaos is used to clear the rabble again. Everyone is defeated except for Aegina. Not only is she immune to the Curse effect, she recovers all damage we deal.



Die, Kingdom scum!



The cannon covers most of the central area, but it's avoidable if you attack at night, and run characters through the blast radius.



This dragon seems friendly... I should try riding it.

Durant loots the only hidden item from the map, which is one of the coolest items in the game. We'll see it in action next map.

Elena starts her approach, but there's no combat this round.



All Aegina can do is fire her cannon.



With Elena here, Yggdra leads the next round of attacks. The first bandit survives thanks to the Fort bonus, but the second is taken down by Bloody Claw.





He attacks back, but is promptly eliminated. The Assassin comes down to take his place.



Durant runs down to join the Union. Yggdra easily deals with the Assasin, so it's down to Elena and Durant against Aegina.



Dark UP will deal tremendous damage to Aegina.







Unfortunately it just speeds up her Revolution, which lets her claim victory.



Durant will have none of it, and claims a quick victory.

With the last soldier out of the way, Durant approaches Aegina. He will be our initial counter-attack to bring down Aegina's morale.

For my sister... For what you've done... I will never yield!

We, too, cannot surrender... For the sake of our people!







Durant takes a Revolution, but still emerges on top. He doesn't deal a lot of damage, but it will be enough.

Yggdra takes his place next turn, to lead the attack against Aegina.

I'll send you to hell for what you did to Luciana!

My parents were killed, too. I would be lying if I said I held no grudges. But...



Oh look, Mistel showed up too. Barring some bad Revolutions, this would've been enough to take out Aegina anyways. We're finishing up with Crusade. It's especially useful to end with a good card on this map.



Yggdra utterly dominates Aegina, but she can't finish the battle quick enough.



Well, at least we'll be able to use Crusade now.



Damnit.



Yggdra deals only a small amount of damage, so hopefully the others can compensate.



Durant does just that.







Elena manages to pull out the final victory.



Commander Aegina, it's too dangerous here!

Tch... I hate to say it, but you're right.



We will engage the Royal forces inside! Pull back! Hurry!

The Imperial Army has withdrawn into the castle!

So Gulcasa plans to settle this inside his home.

Yes. He will assuredly have troops waiting for us inside.

It's his place. You never know what he's got up his sleeve... What's the plan?

Advance. We've come this far; we cannot turn back now.

You've got a point there. Alright, let's go!

Not much of a plan, but meh.



Loot:


Blue Stinger: Not that great, but has great synergy with Blizzard. We battle Imperial Knights next map, so that card would have one more opportunity to shine. Lasts one map.


Red Crimson: Flame is nowhere near as useful as Blizzard, so this is the lesser of the twins' swords. Also drops Tec, making this weapon even less useful in combat than the Blue Stinger. Again, lasts one map.


Stray Dragon: For three maps, this will change Durant's class into a Dragon Knight. It essentially turns him into an Imperial Knight, Dragon type, Scythe, Fire damage/immunity, etc. He loses one of his best strengths, the ability to Ace Blizzard, but it's generally worth it. This transformation only works while the Stray Dragon is equipped, so you can't equip any other items during that time.

Notes

This is one of my favourite maps, for a few reasons. You get to trudge across the battlefield leaving a path of destruction, and finally get the Valkyrie reveal. I think this plot point was rather well done. Side-by-side, you can see their physical differences and their differences in armour. However, even though it's kept consistent through the game, I don't know anyone who's picked up on it. The Imperial units also never call Luciana Aegina; only the Royal Army does.

You should definitely have your best items equipped at this point; there are plently of neat combinations you can abuse, but it's where I usually unload any Dark UP items.

It doesn't really matter which sister you target first, but they hold different items in their final encounter. I prefer Aegina's item more than Luciana's, so I dealt with Luciana first. While their stats are different, neither one of them should pose much of a threat on the first round. Milanor and Cruz are the only ones that will do poorly against them, at this point, but you have such a large toolbox by this point you should have plenty of options.

When cracking their High Status in Castle Bronquia, you can go the safe way and do the two-turn knockout, but they're weak enough to demolish with a big union anyways.