The Art of Mercy
As the country of Erdeni finds itself at the losing end of the war against Zilantos, the country's aide, Zawra, seeks the Silver Strategist to turn the tides around. While some minor hiccups occurred due to Altair being a skyfarer, he eventually accepts the call and makes way to the Ayuul Mountains.
Much to his surprise, Altair finds out that Erdeni's military strategist was his former subordinate during his time as Sphiria, and ponders about her situation leading to her current job.
Tropes
- Cruel Mercy: Instead of going for an execution, Luhua (along with Renfa) is sentenced to exile at an infamous penal colony, where he would live there for the rest of his life.
- Everyone Has Standards: Being framed for Erik's Suicide Attack against Zawra is enough for Luhua to take control of Zilantos by himself.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Luhua states this trope word for word when questioned about his motive behind his actions.
- Klingon Promotion: Luhua eventually take control of Zilantos by kill off their king and Vitali.
- Refusal of the Call: Altair denies the request to aid Erdeni twice since his status as a crewmember of the Grandcypher prevents him from acting on his own. It's not until the request is relayed directly to the crew that he finally accepts, or rather the crew accepts the request in his stead.
- Sibling Rivalry: Leonis and Shura are siblings to Luhua and Renfa respectively, with the two pairs being on opposite sides of the war.
- Sneeze Cut: As the crew chatters about them staying at Zaha for Altair to revel in his reward, the next scene has the man himself sneezing while doing just that.
- Story-Breaker Power: The crew does not use any primal beasts due to Altair stating that a war between two countries runs on a Grey-and-Grey Morality concept. The one time a primal beast does show up, Altair weakens it by exploiting its flaws.
