There's no battle here, simply story.
◊
"We surrender!"
◊ Wait, what?
"The soldiers who do not want to surrender have already left the castle," the wizard speaks up.
Wow. For once, people were actually smart enough to avoid death at the hands of our forces. I wish more people surrendered.
"Use us as you wish..." the Valkyrie, incorrectly called a "Soldier," mumbles.
"Sir Leonard told us to surrender if this were to happen," the knight says.
"Please accept us so that we can ease the souls of our dead comrades," the wizard says. Wow, these guys are smart.
"When I was forced to run away...I said to the people...Branta of Bacrum, Barbatos of Gargastan, and Ronway of Walsta...these are the people who initiated the war in Valeria to fulfill their selfish desires. They wanted to be King! They torture innocent people to fulfill their evil ambition...I will not follow in these mens' footsteps...I promised that if I were going to end up being like them, I would rather kill myself. Will you follow me?! Do you have enough guts to pursue your ideals?"
"All the soldiers who remained in the castle already had doubts toward the Duke's policies. We may have different ideals and philosophies, but I know that we share the hope for peace between our people," the valkyrie says.
"Please lead us!" the knight shouts.
"I will! From now on we will fight together!"
Nice to see enemies who are smart for once. Rule number one: don't fuck with Orcus.
"Canopus! Orcus! You are alive!" Mildain shouts joyfully.
"I'm glad to know that you are safe also," we reply.
"How's Warren?" Canopus asks.
"He's unconscious now, but his wounds are not fatal," Mildain answers.
"Great!!" Canopus shouts sarcastically. "...What about Lans? He's not back yet?"
"No. We haven't seen each other since the night of the Bacrum attack. We were imprisoned in a concentration camp in Rime and you guys saved us. Thank you. By the way, what is your next plan? Are you still planning to attack Fiduc Castle?" Guildus asks.
"Yes, I am...it seems like Branta and the Dark Knights are not getting along...this would be our chance to take Fiduc Castle..."
"Then we would like to join you. We must pay them back for what they did in Rime. You don't mind, right Orcus?" Guildus asks.
We nod our head as an affirmative.
"I am glad to hear that. Let's move!!" Mildain shouts.
Welcome Mildain
◊ and Guildus
◊ to the squad.
I'm sorry to say I'm replacing Canopus with Guildus. Sorry, old buddy. We might need to bring Canopus into some battles where we need to kill someone quickly, but right now Guildus is too powerful to pass up. Mildain, on the other hand, is weak enough to pass up. I worked hard on my generics, so I don't want very many NP Cs usurping them.
Kind of weird seeing how our team evolved, huh? I can't even remember what I did with Dorony. I must have disbanded her somewhere down the line. I thought Belgger would become a glass cannon, and he became one of our biggest tanks.
I give Guildus a fire sword; his previous weapon was two-handed, and using a fire sword only subtracts around 1 from his strength and allows him to wield a short bow. I give Orcus the warp boots; they work much like the spell in FFT which allowed you to teleport. Belgger gets the grease boots. Now my terror knights have a better range of movement. I give Byan Fenril to replace Lightning; it works much like Rafa's magic from FFT, except unlike FFT, it won't hit empty space; it will concentrate on the units in it's radius. I keep Lightning, however, and replace Quick with it; Lightning doesn't require much MP, so it's useful if I'm running low and still need to deal some damage. I'll give him Quick sometimes depending on the battle.
Speaking of Byan...
Byan Rozen Owhn: Byan does indeed own. Former Valerian Liberation Front member. Bacrum. He once taught in the Valerian Kingdom's Magic Army. He apposed the policy of Branta and joined the Valerian Liberation Front. He fought as a member of the Liberation Army, but was killed in battle. It seems the Report doesn't update profiles when people are lichified. Strange.
Going to Fiduc will end the chapter, but there's an optional battle in Bodo. Let's go there.
But not before we get into a random battle. I test Guildus out here; as expected, he's amazing. He has a decent move range, awesome damage (he did about 121 damage to a berzerker), and only loses a bit of damage with a one-handed weapon.
Now let's go to Bodo.
The Roslolians!
◊ Have they attacked Selye!?
"I guess our business here is done. Oz, let's go back home," Ozma says.
Stupid Name Count: 14
Seriously, "Oz?" "Ozma?"
"Where's the priest?" Oz asks.
If you remember, they told Lans the most likely suspect who stole Plancy was from the Valerian Liberation Front...
"We just took him away. He's so docile and easy to deal with." Do they have Plancy!?
"I didn't think he was in that bad of a shape..." Oz mutters.
"Let's not waste any more time. We have to go," Ozma says, and leaves.
"Listen up, guys! This will be our last task here. We have to erase any evidence of us being here. Set the fortress on fire and double check that all of the guerrillas are dead!" Oz shouts.
By the way, they've been spelling it "guerillas" this entire time, I've just been correcting them.
"Son of a...!" a Dark Knight shouts as we arrive.
◊
"A Dark Knight?!" we shout in surprise.
"Now what?! The Liberation Army? I want overtime for this!" Oz says.
I'm not going to transcribe this, as I want to make sure I have time for the rest of the chapter. Guildus is awesome. So is Aloser.
I love you, Haborym.
◊ Marvel at his petrifying powers.
Also, the Dark Knights theme plays through it even though that isn't a standard battle theme.
I always thought that was kind of cool, mostly because this theme is kickass. I love this game's soundtrack.
"Shit..." He uses a plot contrivance I mean escape crystal to get out of there.
I get 1875 Goth.
Looks like Selye didn't hold up very well against the Dark Knights.
◊ Sisteena walks in.
"How horrible..."
"I am fine...how are my comrades?" she asks.
"Why did they come here?" Orcus asks rather rudely.
"Because I rescued the priest from Heigm Castle."
"A priest?"
"It is your father, Plancy Powell." Knew it.
"My father is alive?! Where is he?" Orcus asks.
"I don't know...if you don't see his body around then they must have taken him." That's... rather blunt, Selye.
"I wonder? Why were the Roslolians so desperate to get him back?" Sisteena ponders.
"The purpose of the Dark Knights is not to rule over Valeria... They are looking for a person named Manafloa. Only your father knows of her whereabouts..."
"My father?!"
"It seems like they finally found Manafloa..." Selye mutters.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because..."
"They may come back again. We should get out of here," Sisteena interrupts.
"I agree...come with us, Selye."
"But..." Selye begins.
"We are not who we were before, Selye. We have changed... We have no intention of using cunning tricks and inhumane tactics...we share the same philosophy as the Valerian Liberation Front, right? I need your help. I want you to help us finish this war."
"I can't give up now...I must fight for my dead comrades...I trust you. I will fight with you!"
"I'm glad to hear that. Now, let's go."
Welcome Selye to the team.
◊ We're not going to use her, though.
I train everyone to level 24.
We have a choice of which end to attack, west or south. Both have really good items. I choose west.
Our position.
◊ Byan is at 1, Haborym is at 2, Aloser is at 3, Bruno is at 4, Freesia is at 5, Orcus is at 6, Area is at 7, Belgger is at 8, Basha is at 9, and Guildus is at 10.
Let's do this.
We are confronted by a swordsmaster.
◊
"Fools!! They are attacking us from the front. Stupid bastards!" the boss, "Mercury", shouts.
Stupid Names Count: 15
This battle is a veritable treasure chest of good items; so is the other battle. One Archer has the Light bow, the other has the Ice bow, the Terror Knight has the Aqua armor, the Wizard has Magma God, and the Siren has Gnome.
Be aware that after you kill a certain amount of enemies, the boss will start summoning soldiers.
"What are the Dark Knights of Roslolian doing...? Have they...forsaken...us...?"
We get 3500 Goth, Magma God, Ice Bow, Light Bow, and Wing armor.
"They have broken through the front! It's over...Fiduc Castle has fallen!"
"What a mess! I can't believe I allowed this to happen!"
"Leave the rest to us, sir. Please leave the castle immediately, Sir Balzepho!"
"I can't run away like this! I am a Dark Knight..."
"We don't have enough soldiers to protect our lord! It looks bad...! We have to protect our lord!!"
"You're right. I cannot leave our lord alone...and that girl, too! Forgive me Ozma! I pray for your victory!"
"Trust me..."
"Do not die."
"You, too." Ozma leaves.
I give the Wing armor to Orcus, and the Aqua armor to Guildus. Area gets the Light bow, Aloser gets the ice bow.
Our position is the exact same as last time.
"Nobody's here. What...?"
"Kachua! Why are you here?!"
"You came to save me, Orcus? Thanks..."
"What are you doing?! Kachua!" a familiar voice shouts.
"Y-you are...!!!"
"This place is dangerous. Shall we go..." Lans says.
"Oh, you're here! Sir, let's get out of the castle."
"You are alive, Ozma."
"Sir Balzepho is waiting for you outside."
"I understand...you should also get out of the castle with the remaining soldiers."
"Kachua!" Orcus shouts.
"I will take care of this. Please get out of the castle with the Princess."
"Don't push yourself too hard. Let's go!" Lans and Kachua leave.
"Your handy work in Rime was quite impressive...let me pay you back, little boy." Ozma summons her troops.
"Come on, fight me!" an off-screen voice shouts. Oz!
◊ "You are strong, but this will be the end of you!"
The Dark Knight theme plays.
Oz is close to us, so I kill him first.
"Oz?!" Ozma shouts.
"Ozma...help...me.." He dies.
"Y-you bastard! How dare you kill my brother!!" Ozma screams.
Want to see how overpowered Haborym is? Look no further. He has formed a literal blockade of petrified units.
◊
Here's our position before Belgger kills Ozma.
◊ As you can see, the battle devolved into a battle over the stairs, and yes, Ozma can petrify.
"...Glory to Lodis..." Ozma dies.
"Kachua, why...?" Orcus whispers.
We get 4675 Goth, a mind ring, some gold, and a whip amusingly called Rosebud.
Meanwhile, at Heigm Castle...
◊
My god... it seems Lans was lying about sparing him...
◊
"...Your sins will be washed away by your death and your soul will soon be purified."
"Stop! Don't kill me!" Vice roars.
Why did you allow them to capture you, Vice!? What happened to "I'd rather die fighting!"!?
"Pray and kneel down before the Gods."
"Why do I have to be executed?!" Vice screams.
"Holy Father of Filaha, please forgive him for his sins."
They start to bring him to the noose.
◊
"Please, stop!! Call the Cardinal! I was just...I was just following his orders. ...I don't want to die!! Please, I beg of you!! Stop! Orcus! Help me!" Vice shrieks. The executioners hoist him up and the sound of a hanging can be heard as the screen turns black.
The game flashes through a castle. An archer stands vigilant.
◊
...
Two days later, I heard Vice was executed...
◊
...
Next time: we begin Chapter 4, the last chapter of the game!
