♪ A Lonely Figure ♪
It's not like that, Glenn. I swear it. Any love I once had for my stepsister...has been tossed aside. Only hatred remains. If I could tear that woman to shreds right this very moment, I would. I don't care if she's the emperor. It's no different than killing anyone else. So I beg you...all of you... Do not worry about my resolve. Please, Father... And you too, Stepmother... Do not gaze at me with that look in your eyes...
I will bring you her head soon. And when I do, you may finally rest in peace. I know it... Yes, I know it...
Snap out of it, Dimitri. What do you want? I came to check on you. I see. We should make haste and prepare to move out at once. I must kill her as soon as possible... We must first prepare. We have no time to leisurely set up camp. If I must, I will go by myself.
The Imperial army has caught wind of our position. It would seem they were patrolling this place, after all.♪ King of Lions ♪
Your Highness... I ask that you please refrain from reckless behavior in battle.
♪ Calm Winds Over Gentle Waters ♪
Brother... I heard a rumor that there is a vicious murderer among our enemies.
Who knows if there's any truth to it. Though I admit we have lost some soldiers recently. Whether he's among them or not, taking on the Knights of Seiros is extremely dangerous. You're not ready for the front lines, Fleche. Stay in the back and support us from there. Understood?
No! I want to stay with you! I have to— I need you to understand, Fleche. I will come back. I promise. Fine. I trust you, Brother. Please...be safe. All units, prepare to attack!
Randolph has a sister, eh?
No time for that, we've got pre-battle supports to look at.Sylvain/Ashe B.
What's up, Ashe? Looking for more life tips?
Uh, no.
But I did want to thank you for coming to my aid in battle the other day.
That? No need to thank me for that. No, really, I insist! If you hadn't been there, I definitely would have been finished! You really set a model for my training. I can only hope I'll be able to save someone like that someday.
Again with the studying and the training? You're so stubborn you make Ingrid and His Highness seem downright easygoing. My advice on the whole thing is to just follow your instincts. That's what I do. If someone's in trouble, I help them. You don't need to be a valiant knight to know that. Doesn't matter if the person is an ugly old man or the cutest girl you've ever seen, you help 'em.
So, you're saying... Everybody's the same, deep down. It's our job to help anyone who needs it. Ah! What? You're looking at me funny. Did I say something wrong?
No! No. I'm just surprised, that's all. You're actually a much better person than I thought. Was that a compliment? I can't tell. Oh—sorry! I didn't mean any insult. I was just really impressed by what you said about helping people without even thinking. To jump in and help someone without any thought at all of reward—that is real virtue. Heh heh, how did you say that with a straight face?! I'd be embarrassed if I were you. Come on, Ashe. You're an honest and overall great guy. You'll be an honest and overall great knight too.
Of course, people like you need to watch out for greedy people. Huh? Remember when I said I didn't need any thanks? Well, I didn't say anything about not wanting a reward.
I need to hang out in your room until everything calms down. Should only be a day...or two...tops. Sylvain! Come on, Ashe. Remember? If someone's in trouble, you help them! You want to be a great knight, yeah? Fine. Since you helped me... But just this once. All right! I knew I could count on you. You'll definitely be a great knight. He really would be a great person, if he could just stop all the scandal...
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
How the hell Sylvain manages to cause schooltime incidents like that in the middle of a war is beyond me.
Ashe/Annette A.
It's not a pleasant job, but someone has to do it.
With all the windows boarded up, it's so dark. And there are strange noises... Like that noise! What was that? A rat?! Tell me it was a rat... B-better than a ghost!
You're not scared of ghosts, are you, Ashe? I didn't think you'd be... You haven't seen what I've seen! Ahhh! Ahhh! Oh no! What was that noise? I-it's OK! Just the wind blowing the door shut! Oh no, the latch is rusted! Ugh... It won't budge! What?! You mean we're trapped in here? I'm sorry! I didn't think to prop the door open! Don't worry about that now! We need to think of a way out of here! Well, what if we were to pry the boards off the windows?
Yes, that! We can do it in no time. Oh! Ah! There's something on my face! Calm down, Ashe! It's a cobweb! Just a cobweb!
We've got to pull ourselves together. Now, which of the windows should we check? Ah, I can't stand it here in the pitch dark! Oh! I've got one here. Stand back!
I wouldn't want to go through that again... For a moment there, I didn't think we'd make it out alive. No... Wait! I've lost it. It's gone! What is it? The doll my father gave me... I must have dropped it. In the tower? Are you going back for it? No! It's OK... Don't worry about it. I've been meaning to throw it out for a while now. Are you sure? If it was a gift from your father... Yes, but it can't be helped. Let's just get back to the monastery... Uh, right.
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
You two are adults...
Sylvain/Mercedes A.
Good evening, Sylvain! Thank you for coming out to see me. Just the two of us meeting at this time of night? You move quicker than I thought. Hm? I don't know what speed has to do with it, but there was something I wanted to talk to you about. Ah, OK... I probably should have figured that out. I can be so forgetful at times. I neglected to mention this the other day.♪ Recollection and Regret ♪
Huh? Me? Your parents have placed a great deal of pressure on you as their heir...
And it's all because you were born with a Crest. You've had to put up with such lofty expectations. All of the Kingdom's noble houses expect a lot from their heirs. I'm no different from any other noble guy or gal. We've all got responsibilities. But didn't you mention that your brother envied you enough to wish you dead? I'm sure that wasn't easy. Thinking about it, life was probably a lot harder for my brother than it ever has been for me. Didn't you also mention that women were only interested in having your, as you say, "Crest baby"? I'm not very interested in the particulars, but... I get the feeling that you don't care very much for these women who throw themselves at you. Um, I'd appreciate it if maybe you kept that observation between the two of us.
Your secret's safe with me. I understand the pain you've had to carry. I know you've got your share of bad memories too, but... That's why you feel comfortable letting your guard down around me. Come now, that's enough with the sad smile. Mercedes... Was my sad smile really that bad? Did it ruin my dashing good looks? Not at all. You actually look more handsome to me with honesty on your face. Aw, here come the waterworks... Don't be ashamed of crying. I'm here to protect you. Will you protect me in return? I will. I promise. You know, Mercedes, you really are a special lady.
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
Mercedes is truly amazing. Able to get Sylvain to be genuine, even though she's not one of his three childhood friends.
Ingrid/Yuri A.
What are you on about?
I'm not on about anything. Let's have dinner together, Yuri.
I did. It's a simple dish—my culinary skills are fairly basic.
Hold on. What exactly is this about?
You cook for me, I cook for you. That's how this works. It may not be quite as elegant a meal as that of Adrestian or Leicester cuisine... But the food of Faerghus is delicious nonetheless.
The flavors were...nostalgic. Reminded me of when I lived with my mother and the elder. I was actually born in a poor town in Faerghus. The flavors in this dish remind me of those days. Eh, sorry. I didn't mean to compare a meal made by nobility with the meager food I grew up eating.
No offense taken. To tell the truth, although my house is a noble one, it's also lacking in money. Our territory was struck by famine, and we ate whatever the land gave us...which wasn't much. We took what we could, just like everyone. I see... Well, I must say that your cooking is quite to my taste. Any meal made with so much thought and care is bound to be delicious. Heh heh! Why, thank you! High praise, indeed, from someone who knows their way around a kitchen. To survive in this world means to sharpen many skills. Whether it's cooking or anything else, really.
Although, I've got to say, I do enjoy cooking. And if my meals can bring a smile to someone's face, all the better. Celebrating victories with friends, sitting around a table with loved ones, watching someone enjoy the meal I made them... Few things bring me more joy. Have you ever considered giving up being the lord of the underworld and becoming a chef instead? Heh... A chef, huh? You know, that doesn't sound half bad. If you ever do, I'd come to your restaurant and eat whatever you'd whipped up every day! I'd like that very much. I'd work extra hard so I could see that lovely smile of yours. You are just too much! I can hardly maintain my composure around you... Did I say something wrong? Not at all, Yuri. Not at all.
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
Yuri as a chef... What a fascinating mental image.
Right, that was fun. Let's get to the pain.
An Imperial vanguard, led by General Randolph, has deduced the location of the Kingdom army and now advances with the aim of toppling Garreg Mach for a second time.
♪ No music ♪
♪ As Fierce as Fire ♪
You'd think that the Adrestian Empire would've had Garreg Mach razed to the ground within the past five years, honestly.
No real significant additional opposition, but there is something interesting here. See that grappler, with the fist icon, marked as a new unit? He's actually a replacement for a sniper that stood at that exact same spot on Normal/Hard.The grappler is treated specially, even. He's got two unique abilities, overriding the standard grappler abilities.
Keen Intuition: Grants Avo +30 during combat with a foe 2 or more spaces away.
Defense +2: Increases Def by 2.As usual, Keen Intuition is a major pain in the ass.
Our defensive fighting force.
No special preparations, so let's go.
Please ignore Randolph's missing portrait here.
♪ Chasing Daybreak ♪
If they reach the interior, we won't be able to protect the monastery. Drive them back! Accursed asynchronous I/O.
...Y'know, it's kind of weird that the game is still throwing armored knights at us, instead of switching full-time to fortress knights.
It's over!
niceAnyways, enemy fliers are super scary on Maddening, but gauntlet users with sufficiently high Str are decent counters against pegasus and falcon knights, since per tradition, they've got a pretty bad Def weakness.
Surprise: I didn't use Stride at the start of the battle! I did it three actions in, instead.
That's two high-Mv units that I don't have to worry about.
I am incredibly lucky that enemy fliers still die in one shot to bows on Maddening.
Upon reflection, I'm not sure why I used Ingrid's gambit here.
Pure grit!
Death to snipers.
The on-odd-turn reinforcements on this map have been beefed up; in addition to being able to act on their spawn turn, there's an additional paladin that isn't present on lower difficulties.Oh, incidentally, enemy falcon knights have no additional abilities compared to enemy pegasus knights—they've just got the higher stats, plus the Swordbreaker+ and Weight -3 that enemy pegasus knights already had.
The fact that they can act on their spawn turn is such a headache, man.
Hits.
The swordmaster we have to escort down the eastern side of the map spawns in.
15 Str at level 26 is quite impressive for a magic user. "Buff as heck," as Hapi herself would put it.
I'll leave you breathless!
Yep, that's what Marianne needs.
Unfortunate.
Well, firing off a Deadeye couldn't hurt.
No crit, but hey, that actually hit.I do need to keep in mind that this guy's got Vantage active now, though.
Hits.Splash damage with Poison Strike behaves weirdly. The splash damage animation and damage happens first, and then the camera snaps back to the attacker as the Poison Strike damage is displayed.
I'll end this quickly!
Okay, let's make sure you three can't move, even if I fail to kill you.
Indeed, Bernie, which is why it's good you—Man, how many variants of this exact same joke have I done? More importantly, how many more am I going to end up doing before the LP is over?
Well, that sucked.Y'know what could've been terrifying? If enemy pegasus knights had Bowbreaker. Guhhhhhh...
That's the spirit!
At a certain point, critical hits are more useful for the early confirmation that the attack hit, rather than the additional damage.
Man, Weight -3 really does nothing for paladins. They're already slow, Weight -3 isn't going to help much.
Another round of these guys.
The onager hit the swordmaster.
Oof, what happened there?
Okay, well, the center of the map has decidedly become a clusterfuck.
Dammit, that would've been sick...
Best I can do is back everyone out of the danger zone, and hope Dimitri can take all the attacks that are about to come his way.
Sylvain can help by drawing other enemies.
Could've been a lot worse!
The onager hits both Hapi and the swordmaster.
How do I manage to get myself in these situations?
A crit would've been so nice there.
Hapi is, thankfully, able to finish off the grappler. Uncanny Blow offsets the Avo bonus the grappler gets from Keen Intuition, giving Hapi really good Hit against him. The grappler also lacks Tomebreaker, which doesn't help him in the "staying alive" department.
Not the time, Dorothea!
Wave Attack is really saving my ass here, I don't know what I would've done without it or Ashes and Dust.
Marianne can also prevent this dark bishop from attacking on the enemy phase, which will help me resolve this mess.
Again, a crit would've helped me quite a bit there.
That bodes ill.
exCUSE me
Oh, come on, that's just rubbing salt in the wound.Admittedly, even if Adan had landed that crit with Sublime Heaven, I...don't know what I would've done about the two pegasus knights. I guess I was just hoping that I'd get lucky. Poor tactics abound on this map, I really don't understand what I was doing when I recorded this.
Only way to really fix this is to redo the turn.
Adan positioning himself in front of Hapi means that neither of the pegasus knights can reach her.
Thankfully, the pegasus knights cannot double the swordmaster. Even with their high Hit chances, he'll only take 32 damage. It'll hurt, sure, but he'll live.
Ingrid, sadly, can't do much right now without leaving herself very vulnerable.
Meteor's splash damage helps quite a bit here.
For one thing, it lets Dimitri kill that falcon knight with Wave Attack. For the other, it reduces the cavalry units to near-death HP.
With some help from Annette, Marianne can silence both of the dark bishops, giving Dimitri some breathing room.
Dammit.
Dodge an attack with 100 Hit, asshole.
The swordmaster is so fast (he's got 41 Spd, good lord) that he can double the pegasus knights.
That is a much better outcome than what happened last time.
Jesus! I forgot to check that sniper's equipment! That magic bow could've been Dimitri's death were it not for that one miss.
The onager hits.
Hell yeah, convenient one-shot.
Gambits good.
Sadly, Adan cannot attack on this turn, since Hapi needs to be at full HP, or the onager will be able to kill her.
I'm not even mad at that level, it's genuinely hilarious.
Whatever would I do without you, Ashes and Dust?
Vantage...
Marianne uses Draw Back on Annette. Without doing this, Annette is vulnerable to two different fortress knights. While their odds of hitting her aren't great (upper 40s), if both attacks hit, then Annette is dead. Best to pull her back, especially since Marianne doesn't have much else to do right now.
Ouchie. Hey, wait, Annette can deal real damage to—
Yep, okay.
Fuck me, man, the attack hits and kills the swordmaster...
I rewound to just after Adan healed Hapi. This map is a serious pain, and yes, I'm making you suffer with me.
You, die.
Having to burn five uses of Gradivus hurts, but...well, it gets me a one-round on that sniper.
Bet you forgot that Mercedes still had one use of Stride left, huh?
This is the same as before, just with targeting the south falcon knight instead of the east one.
With the added room for Marianne to move, and no need to silence the dark bishops, Marianne is able to heal the swordmaster up.
Oh hell yeah.
No sick crit this time, sadly.
The onager hits Hapi.
Sadly, the swordmaster will not engage in combat on his own.
No crit, but it doesn't matter.
The brawler goes down, for the last time.
Going for melee kills on enemy fliers is always gonna be a dangerous gamble.
Okay, I'm gonna do it!
Pew.
We're only two chapters and one paralogue into Part 2, and I've already burned most of Gradivus's uses.
Hey, look, Wave Attack's effectiveness against armored units is being useful!
Sometimes I close the combat forecast before the Hit counter can finish changing based on support bonuses and bow range penalties, hence the discrepancy between the forecast and the actual stats.
Nothing much happens on the enemy phase.
Time to finish this.
Quiet! Don't think you'll get away with mocking me! Attack! Make sure they never speak again!
The reinforcements are cut off, and the new fortress knights are rattled. It was a grueling pu sh, but the end is in sight.
Don't struggle.
I really wish you could hear the voice acting for Dimitri saying "Don't struggle." Terrifying.
I won't run away!
That fortress knight will be looking up, at the grass.
Mercedes using Draw Back on Leonie gets her within range of that falcon knight.
That's the spirit!
Even with the last reinforcements dead, this is still a bit of a tough approach, especially given that I'm out of Divine Pulse charges.
Genuinely surprised that Sylvain was able to double that fortress knight with the Lance of Ruin.
Randolph's unit starts moving—they do that as soon as there's only four or less enemies remaining on the map, I don't think I've mentioned that before. Randolph in particular is programmed to go after Adan/Abby specifically.
lol
I should've used Alois more as an actual combat unit.
Bernadetta can't get any closer without one of the enemies targeting her.
Hit, but no crit.
Having Bernadetta go for the kill was a pretty big risk, but it paid off.
Nothing happens on the enemy phase.
Guess I've got to!
You poor sap, you have no idea what's about to happen to you.
Meh.
Big fan of how Three Houses will move to the battle view before the battle shaders are ready.
I think Marianne deserves a kill every once in a while, even on Maddening, don't you?
...Well, that was a waste, in the end.
A terrible battle, yet Garreg Mach still stands. Your Highness?
♪ A Lonely Figure ♪
A beast of your depravity, prattling on about family? How amusing. As though you could understand...such a thing as love... You heartless monster! You are a monster too, General. You have just yet to realize it. A monster who thinks he's a man...despicable. As a general, you must have killed countless souls without a shred of mercy. Do you still remember the sound of them begging, just as you're begging now? Or, now that your life is at its end, will you hold to the lie that your hands are not stained red with blood?
This...this is war. I did what I had to for the Empire...for the people...for my family! So, you are piling up corpses for the people and for your family. And I am doing the same for the salvation of the dead... After all is said and done, we are both murderers. Both stained. Both monsters. You're wrong! Am I? I can smell the rotting flesh upon your hands even now, General. Enough! That's enough! I won't kill you right away, my fellow monster. Unless you object to watching your friends die. One...by...one.
What is the meaning of this? I couldn't bear to watch. Hah...hahahaha! A grievous error, Professor! If you do not approve of what I have become, then kill me. If you insist that you cannot...then I will continue to use you and your friends until the flesh falls from your bones.
Hey, why am I fighting for you, again? I think letting the Adrestians run rampant over Fódlan might lead to a lower bodycount than keeping you alive.
I anticipate a second and third wave of attack... With our current forces, we'll have our hands full just defending. It's a miracle we managed to repel the Imperial army with the few units and resources we do have. We should probably contact Rodrigue right away to request backup. Rodrigue is in a difficult position, as he has suffered invasions by the Dukedom. But there are troops who share in our cause gathering in the heart of Fraldarius territory. If we can arrange for them to join us, our forces will grow considerably. Fraldarius... So, Rodrigue is still alive, is he? We met five years ago. So you did.
I wonder what my old man will say when he sees you now. That spectacle alone will be worth the trip. Hmph. I've already sent word with our fastest messenger informing Rodrigue that His Highness is alive. But we'd do well to send another in case anything happens to the first. With the current state of things, we'll be completely helpless without his support. Your Highness, may I ask what your next plan of attack is? Should we dispatch our troops to the Kingdom capital or to the Imperial capital? We will take the Imperial capital. There, I will kill her. We end the war and chase away the lingering regrets of the dead. Nothing could be more to the point. Uh, that may be true, but don't forget that your people need our help right now... Your Highness... I hate them too. But the citizens of Fhirdiad have long awaited your return. Just give it up already. Wasting time thinking about stuff like that will only dull your blade. Defeating Edelgard would put an end to the war. That would benefit the Kingdom as well... We still need to look for Lady Rhea, so I agree that we should get to Enbarr as fast as possible.
Professor... Whatever you decide, we shall follow. Let's take back Fhirdiad, the Kingdom Capital. You were entrusted with leading the church. One would think the logical step is to march to Enbarr. If Lady Rhea is being held prisoner in the Empire, we don't have time to waste taking back Fhirdiad. Can you deny it?
... Yes... It is the only way. Either way, we are in need of numbers. It is essential that we secure backup.
I do not want to think about what attacking Enbarr this early into Part 2 would be like, gameplay-wise.Next time: did you miss Ailell? No? Good news, we've got paralogues instead.
This update brought to you by the wonderful patrons of my LPs on Patreon:
- SighOfLethe
- Silverfire
- Carlos C.
- Cotton
- Vrorag
- LiveBait
- JeromeKelvin
- Logicblade
- LoneJudas
- LPFinale
- Nico Z
- Materant
- RNGesus Disciple
- Crosspeice
- Mutie
- Wakujuz
- Shei-kun
- ThornBrain
- Spavven
- ZZT the Fifth
- Sylviaon
- Erisin
- Zeke
- Andrew
- marron
- BeanMachine
- Leraika
Next Update
Previous Update
Table of Contents
