I'm not sure what Daccar has planned for his attempt to take Silesia, as he mentioned before, but I know it isn't going to be pleasant to deal with. After Sigurd takes over Thove, I have everyone move towards the Silesia border guard, ready to begin their countercharge immediately.
Daccar is amused by his brothers loss of Thove, and notes that he apparently didn't realize he was just a pawn in a greater scheme. He then tells Pamela to take her pegasi and seize Silesia before we can provide reinforcements. She and her wing of pegasi take off full speed towards Silesia. Mahnya reports this to Queen Rahna, and while surprised, she notes that at least Daccar has revealed his true intentions. Mahnya tells her queen that she can handle Pamela's squadron, but Rahna is still worried for her, due to Pamela's reputation as a fierce warrior. Mahnya assures Queen Rahna that a Falcon Knight doesn't prepare to enter a losing battle, and notes that this is the only life she knows, so her queen need not worry. She and her pegasus knights then enter a formation to mirror Pamela's, and she takes off to challenge her troops.
Looking at the two squads, Mahnya's is equipped similarly to Deetva's, aiming for evasion and speed, while Pamela's aims for strength Pamela armed with a silver lance and her troops with javelins, while Mahnya's troops have slim lances and swords, and Mahnya has a silver sword. Both leaders have shield rings and fairly even stats, but I fear Pamela may be able to defeat her if I don't get there soon.
I have Sigurd use his return ring to warp back to Sailane, and prepare to go help them, save for the fact that Silesia is still apparently restricted airspace, and no one is allowed to pass, not even Levin or Fury. In the meantime, I have Sylvia speak with Claude. Sylvia recognizes the reverend, and enthusiastically calls to him, and he asks her if she perhaps had a run in with some bandits. She is confused, and he notes that she's presently in her underwear (and in the cold region of Silesia too! lord knows how she hasn't died of frostbite). She's flabbergasted that he apparently has never seen a dancer before, and explains that this is her dancing outfit, much like how he wears a robe. He comments that she must be very cold, and she says that she's "burnin' up", and that her "heart is on fire!" (what is this, One Piece? I can stand in the frozen northern regions with skin-tight clothes because my heart allows it!). Claude notes that she must find it very enjoyable, and she says she wishes to do this for the rest of her life, to which Claude asks how her parents feel about this. The music stops immediately after he says this. It then changes to a surprisingly more jovial tune, and she explains that she's an orphan who was raised by a man who raised her to be a dancer, and abused her for no reason. Last year, she'd had enough of him, and left for good. Claude is horrified by this tale, and notes that he has a younger sister (ummmmm...) who'd be about her age (oh...) and was abducted as a baby (ehhhh...). They talk a bit more, and with no prize given, their love points likely went up (which now makes me feel really creepy, since I think I just set up an incestuous pairing).
Suddenly, Lord Andre arrives, and he is leading a contingency of bow knights (oh shit). Daccar comments that he's finally arrived, with his knights of Jungby, the Beige Ritter. Andre mentions that his father is no longer alive, and his sister is being pursued for involvement in the Grandbell army, leaving him as sole commander of the entire archery brigade of Jungby. This just got a lot worse. Mahnya's squadron begins fighting Pamela's, completely unaware of the horde of bowmen riding in to slaughter them.
Damned border patrol guy, their deaths will be on your head! After Mahnya finishes her turn, she speaks with Pamela, noting that she hasn't seen her in a while. Mahnya is surprised that Pamela could do something like this, and Pamela calls her foolish for staying loyal to Rahna, who apparently "knows it's over for her". She notes that she'll be the top ranking Falcon Knight once this is over with, and Mahnya claims Pamela is the fool, but prepares to battle her with honor.
I have Sigurd run over to the border patrol guy (who I previously had Levin and Fury wait by, to no avail), and nothing happens. Dammit! Pamela's group and the Beige Ritter soon take out many of Mahnya's group, and a pair of Beige Ritter archers bring down Mahnya herself.
Rahna receives the news of Mahnya's death, asking for her forgiveness, and the information finds it's way to both Levin and Fury, inciting disbelief in the former and crushing despair in the latter. I examine Andre and his Beige Ritter, noting too late just how outmatched Mahnya's group was. The entirety of the group is armed with Brave Bows, and Andre himself is a combatant to match either of the Angelic Knights. Dammit, it sucks feeling this useless!
Andre tells Pamela that he will finish the pegasus knights here and take Silesia, and asks her to fly north to take back Thove. The Beige Ritter then finishes off the rest of Mahnya's squadron, and heads south to take over Silesia. Like hell she will! I have Aideen warp Lex to Thove, and he guards it, preparing to crush them when they come.
Andre's troops soon take Silesia castle, and pull back to Grandbell now that their duty is done (I'd better get to kill that bastard later). Daccar sends Donovan and his axemen to occupy Silesia, and sRahna quickly sends everyone out of the castle, knowing that she won't be harmed due to being a good hostage for Daccar. Donovan is angry at being made the fool, and so sends his men to go kill the escaping people. Rahna begs him to stop, since they are just innocent people, and Donovan ignores her plea, planning to use them as an example of what happens when you go against Daccar. Daccar now speaks with an odd woman, who points out how corrupt he is in trying to seize an entire kingdom. He points out that assassins such as herself will kill anyone so long as a paycheck is involved, and then he refers to her as Lamia the Wicked. She decides to take that as a compliment, and asks what he plans for them to do, and he just asks her to watch the castle.
The border patrol guy now gone, and replaced with some fool in a mountain who is quickly dispatched by Fury, I have everyone begin charging across the mountains, ready to slaughter all of Daccar's forces. I notice a second Blizzard mage, but he isn't threatening, and I don't worry about him. The villagers begin running from the axemen, while Pamela's forces continue north, and a civilian narrowly dodges a blizzard spell. Donovan notes our approach and prepares to guard the castle.
Fury prepares to engage the axemen, while Levin takes down the blizzard mage, and Sigurd "helps" a villager, removing them from the map and providing him with a level up. With bow wielding warriors and wind mages incoming, Fury won't be able to fend these guys off forever, and cuts herself an exit through the surrounding fighters, flying off to help a fleeing civilian. Brigid, Azel, Lachesis, and Tiltyu all assist the remaining civilians with escaping while crossing the mountains. I also notice Beowulf can't cross the mountain, so he sadly must stay behind for a little bit.
As we take down these goons, I note that Levin has gotten three critical hits in a row. Methinks he's a touch angry at Daccar and his men. The party swarms over the enemies, systematically crushing them one by one, and Levin then runs in front of Silesia, killing the final foe and preparing to take down Donovan. Pamela's brigade continues towards Thove, though they still haven't reached it yet. Donovan attacks Levin, and is eviscerated by, I shit you not, the dudes sixth critical in a row.
Pamela's group finally reaches Thove, and will begin attacking Lex next turn, while I prepare to deal with Lamia and her group of tricky foes. I note two archers with killer bows, a priest with physic, two mages with elthunder, two myrmidons with brave swords, another two with sleep swords, and Lamia herself, a swordmaster with pursuit (which all of her units save the mages and priest have as well) and adept, alongside a silver blade and a renewal ring. Quite the motley band, but a very dangerous one at that.
Pamela's group begins engaging Lex, and he easily trumps their numbers with his unbreakable defense and his hand axe, able to counter all of their attacks with ease while the base heals him from any wounds. Sigurd meanwhile seizes Silesia, and is glad to see Rahna is safe. She feels horrid that she couldn't do anything to help all of the people who've died, including Mahnya. Sigurd swears that he will personally take it upon himself to avenge her death (don't get ahead of yourself Siggy, Daccar's head belongs to Levin). Sigurd requests permission to take over Zaxon Castle, and she grants it, saying that Daccar, having put the citizenry through so much suffering, is a murderer, and must pay for his crimes. With Silesia captured, I have everyone prepare to meet Lamia's forces, and have Aideen recross the mountain, so she can warp Beowulf to Silesia.
Daccar is angered by Donovan's failure to hold Silesia, and thus orders Lamia's forces to attack us, and also orders Pamela's unit to attack Sigurd, and so they begin flying south, while Lex remains there to hold Thove until they fly out of reach. Going off of something a reader told me, I have Levin enter the castle, and he and Rahna speak, him stating how worried he was, and her mentioning how much he's matured. They chat a bit longer, Rahna mentioning that Sigurd likely rubbed off on Levin in regards to responsibility. Levin, saddened by Mahnya's death, swears that he will protect Rahna, no matter what, to which she asks him to stay with Sigurd. She then says she entrusts him with the Sacred Wind Tome, Holsety (I'm glad I listened!). Levin goes through the whole glowy thing like the others, and receives Holsety, a tome which boosts skill by 10 and speed by 20, granting it's wielder complete control of the swift freedom and sheer ferocity the wind.
Sigurd, Levin, Fury, Aira, and Holyn taking the lead, the party begins a slow march to meet Lamia's forces, making sure that they are all within range before beginning their assault. Pamela is the only one of her brigade heading south, the rest of her troops too preoccupied with Lex to join her. The party soon engages Lamia's assassins, and they provide a decent challenge, although I'm able to make short work of all of them with Sylvia's dancing granting everyone some extra movement. Aira takes down Lamia, proving once again just how much better she is than everyone else.
The rest of the stray troops are dealt with pretty smoothly, Lex chasing down the rest of Pamela's brigade while Pamela herself seems to have disappeared from the map. I send Lachesis and Fury off to promote in Sailane in the meantime, while Azel, Tiltyu, Levin, and Sigurd all prepare for the takeover of Zaxon. The first to get there, Fury promotes into a Falcon Knight with an A is swords and lances (finally, someone can buy that Silver Lance in the shop!), and she also finishes the arena, before leaving to return to the party.
Uh oh. Pamela suddenly flies out of Zaxon with a fresh brigade of Pegasus knights. Lachesis, having been warped to Sailane, promotes to Master Knight, gaining a huge boost to strength, skill, speed, and defense, learning the pursuit skill, and gaining the ability to wield every weapon at A level save Light (C rank) and Dark (can't wield)! Holy shit Lachesis, you've just went from an okay fighter and healer to straight up badass!
The party begins to battle Pamela and her troops, Levin disciplining the disobedient Angelic Knight (after a conversation where Pamela brags about killing Mahnya, which incites Levin to attack her) with a healthy dose of Holsety while everyone else picks off the generics. Lex begins heading back to Sailane (only for the escaping pegasus knights to fly back to him, allowing him to take them down), while Fury and Lachesis prepare to rejoin the party. Levin, Azel, Tiltyu, Fury, and Sigurd begin to head for Zaxon, all the obstructions finally out of the way.
The final pegasus knight is taken down, having committed suicide-by-Lex after flying right next to him. I note that Daccar's guards don't move, and Daccar himself has a blizzard tome, so the generals are likely meant to stay there and hold you off while Daccar blasts you. Too bad his plans didn't account for Levin and Holsety ripping through the side of his castle to get to him. A convo happens, Daccar being surprised by Levin's appearance and Levin demanding to know how Daccar had dared to kill Mahnya. They share mutual death threats, and then they fight, Daccar just barely avoiding death thanks to his Great Shield skill. Levin finishes him off next turn with a critical, and then leaves the surrounding knights to Azel and Tiltyu.
Gah, got complacent. I thought I could just kill Daccar and his guards wouldn't move, but they did, leading to them killing Tiltyu. Reset counter: 10, I think? Be right back...
Everything happens mostly the same, but after finally re-reaching the point when I aim to attack Zaxon, I add Brigid and Beowulf to the assault team, and have Azel and Tiltyu wait further back, within range of only one of the generals. I also notice that Sigurd and Claude can speak, so I have them do so. Sigurd apologizes for getting him mixed up in this, and Claude apologizes for not being able to help much. He explains that while he tried to tell the king of Sigurd's innocence, Reptor's men kept him away, and he too was branded a traitor. Sigurd is enraged by all this, and feels just about ready to storm Grandbell and expose Reptor for the liar he is, but Claude knows violence won't solve anything, and tells Sigurd he must wait it out.
Levin kills Daccar again, and the generals move out, though two go after Levin, around the back of the castle, while one goes for Azel. After some annoying Great Shield hijinx (he blocked two Elfire spells, and a Thoron, before Beowulf killed him with the Armor Cutter), he falls. The next two generals move out, and Brigid and Beowulf down one, while Azel (with the Power of Love from Tiltyu) defeats the other, and reaches level 20. I have Aideen warp him back to Sailane, where he promotes into a Mage Knight, giving him A fire, and B wind, thunder, and sword levels. Sigurd then seizes Zaxon.
Oifaye tells him that Queen Rahna is here, and she asks if he is okay after that battle. Sigurd says he's fine, somehow, and she asks him to station his troops at Zaxon. She explains that Duke Langbert has taken over Lubeck, and they are just a stone's throw away. Sigurd knows that Langbert is here for him, not Silesia, and so he plans to avoid dragging Silesian citizens into it, deciding to move out of Zaxon castle and settle the issue. She says it seems reckless, and asks how he could possibly win, and Sigurd notes that if they stay, they'll simply be attacked here. Sigurd explains that he has truly enjoyed the time he spent here, and tells Rahna that she felt like a second mother to him, who lost his mother when he was very young. He says he looks forward to the day they meet again, and she returns his sentiment, as well as both advising him not to push himself too hard and noting that she will be praying for Dierdre's safe return.
That marks the end of this chapter, and the beginning of the penultimate chapter of the first generation. To think, I'm a bit less than half done with all this!
As a side note, I quite liked this chapter, especially the portion with Mahnya, Pamela, and the Beige Ritter, because it's very rare where, in spite of your best efforts, the game can fill you with a sense of complete helplessness as something comes to pass, while still keeping control in your hands.
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