♪ Three Crowns ♪
Now in control of the Great Bridge of Myrddin, the Kingdom army begins to invade Imperial territory. In response, the Imperial army garrisons soldiers at Fort Merceus.
♪ No music ♪
You bet your ass I'm curious how he's doing.Adan/Dedue A.
...
Here for the flowers again? That's right. I see. ... ...I have two things to say. First, I thank you for supporting His Highness in my absence. But I must also admonish you for taking your own well-being too lightly. On several occasions, I have seen you protect others by putting yourself in harm's way. I am grateful for your efforts, but I feel you should place a higher value on your own life. His Highness relies on you...as do I. I understand. Then show that with your actions. We cannot afford to lose an invaluable asset like you. And... And?
It would not be fair to the flowers, to leave me their only caretaker.
Hm. Someday, I hope to show you a whole landscape of these flowers in full bloom. You mean Duscur? Yes. Once this conflict is over, and His Highness ascends the throne, I believe it can be done. You must live at least until then. Understood?
Same to you. That's true enough. I had not thought much of my own life, until now. Except that I would gladly cast it aside for His Highness. That is still true, but now I desire to see the end of this war.
♪ No music ♪
Gods, Dedue is good.
♪ The King of Lions ♪
It would seem the Empire is gathering troops at Fort Merceus. This is undoubtedly in response to us taking the Great Bridge of Myrddin. Their numbers are more than double ours. We believe that the emperor herself may be leading them...
... If House Riegan can reconcile with House Gloucester sooner than later... Then Claude can proceed with his plan to rally the Alliance lords, gather troops, and invade Empire territory.
At this rate, three military forces will be clashing at Gronder Field.
Just like five years ago... If you wish to indulge in nostalgia, do it elsewhere.
I'm afraid the difference in military strength is far from negligible. While we are elite soldiers, I am still uneasy about this... If possible, I'd like to request reinforcements right away. If we can rely on any of the major Kingdom houses for military support, it would be...House Charon, I'd wager. Why them? House Charon has yet to declare fealty to the Empire. I will send word at once. I am certain they will cooperate. Very well. We're counting on you, Gilbert. If we'd recruited Catherine, we'd get this instead. House Charon has yet to declare fealty to the Empire.
It is also...my home. I will make the request to my father. With things as they are, I don't think he can refuse. The church has long protected me. I am certain that any request from the church will be answered to the utmost of their ability. Very well. We're counting on you, Catherine. I suppose that is all we can do for now. So it would seem. Though, if there are any other avenues worth exploring, I would suggest... Allying with the Alliance? Ah, good point. We have no reason to engage the Alliance directly. Even if we do receive Count Charon's aid, we still won't have the troops we need to face the Empire. But if we join forces with the Alliance, then our numbers will rival the Empire's. Let's join forces. Agreed. It's about the only thing we can do. For now, let's send a messenger, and try to figure out what the Alliance hopes to achieve. It's hard to believe this decisive battle will take place at Gronder Field... I imagine that place is full of memories for all of you.
We won the Battle of the Eagle and Lion back in the day. It seems like a lifetime ago...
I can't help but remember, even though I wish I didn't.
Our feast after the battle... I remember it well. We all had so much fun together.
No! Please, stop it. I had finally put all of that out of my mind... This isn't right. They're our friends! We used to study together. We shouldn't be fighting them.
Why not march up to Her Majesty and remind her of that? Oh, that's right...because you want to live to see tomorrow. No matter who the enemy is, I will fight for His Highness.
Tell me, boar prince. Do we stand a chance?
Who knows...
...
That's enough, Felix. We must focus on the battle ahead. Make your peace before we depart. It's kill or be killed out there. We will cross blades with the Empire, but it's possible we will also have to strike down the Alliance. Your Highness... Do you feel no hesitation about killing your former friends? If they must die, I will kill them. Nothing could be simpler.
I am used to killing familiar faces by now...
Wait, what? Where did this talk of having to fight the Alliance come from? The hell, Dimitri?
As you might suspect, now that Dedue's back, we've got a few supports for him to go through, stuff he had built up from Part 1.Dedue/Felix B.
What is it.
You defended me in battle. Why? His Highness does not wish for our military strength to be depleted. The loss of your strength would be significant. You are a colossal idiot. One slip-up and you would have died. You think he would've been happy about that? No, I do not. Then why protect me? I thought you were his mindless weapon, his sword and shield. I heard about your brother. He was at Duscur. He died to protect His Highness. He did, but I don't see what that has to do with anything. Are you repaying some kind of debt? I hope you're not going to praise his death. I hear enough of that from my old man. I will not praise it, then. Instead I will say I would have done the same in his position. Is it really so unnatural to put one's life on the line to protect a brother in arms?
To hear a rabid dog call me a "brother in arms"... Your insults are merely an attempt to avoid addressing me as what I am. I am a man of Duscur. Yet you were concerned for my life. "Concerned" is a strong word. Your death would have been unpleasant. That's all. Coming from you, that is enough. What's that supposed to mean? I just meant— Never mind! OK, go ahead, protect me. But if you act like a fool and get yourself killed, I'll kill you.
I... You-you know what I meant!
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
Dedue/Ashe B.
You don't like to talk much, huh, Dedue? I am not skilled in conversation. Any particular reason? Reason? I am only here at the monastery because this is where His Highness wishes me to be. Many here are frightened of me. Disgusted by me. I grow weary of it. That makes sense. A lot of people hate Duscur. They think all kinds of terrible things. Some of them even think you kidnap and eat people. Heh. We sound like true monsters.
Why are you smiling?! Shouldn't it make you angry? I suppose. If those people would just talk to you, I'm sure they'd change their minds. I'll admit that when I first got here, I found you kind of intimidating. I didn't know if it was OK to talk to you. I hesitated. But like I said before, I just wanted to get to know you. And now that I have, I'm not scared at all. I am not very good at interesting conversation. We can work on that. Tell me about Duscur. What was your hometown like? Calm. More forested than Faerghus. Each town had a specialty. Smithing, fishing... You would be better off reading about it in a book.
OK, maybe you're right. But answer me one thing. You're a great cook, and you learned at home. Why don't you make more Duscur-style food? As we have established, people hate Duscur. Food by itself may be harmless, but it is better not to sow seeds of discontent. Ah. But the cuisine of Duscur is delicious! I'd really like to try more of it! I am...pleased to hear you say so.
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
Dedue/Annette A.
What is it, Annette?
I completely forgot that it's my turn for kitchen duty today!
Huh? Dedue... Did you do all the kitchen prep already? Kitchen duty is mine today. What? But... Did I get the day wrong? Yes. Yours is tomorrow. Oh! Haha, I'm so sorry! Wow, I really am something else... These things happen.
Hahaha! Is something funny? Oh, no. I was just happy. So, you probably already know this, but my uncle is really strict. He wanted me to be perfect at cooking, studying, cleaning, washing...everything, really. He said if I wasn't perfect, as a knight's daughter, I'd be devaluing my Crest. Whenever I messed up he'd look so mad... And he'd sigh, like he'd just lost his faith in humanity. That is harsh. Oh, I know he loved me and all... He was just kind of scary. But you've helped me out and been patient with me without getting mad. I'm just so happy! Thank you, Dedue. I have hardly done anything. You know what? You remind me of my father. Of Gilbert? You look scary at first glance, but you're actually really kind! Is that so... Oh, right! Let me help you with something, if that's OK with you! What are you cooking today? Hopefully I can chip in... It is a meat dish from Faerghus. Uh... I'm still a complete klutz, so I'm not going to be in the way, am I? Not at all. I was hoping that the food I made would bring a smile to your face. Oh, wow. That's...
Haha, well then! I can't wait for dinnertime! Good.
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
Minor thing I didn't bring up mid-scene because it...really is very minor, but I have a bit of commentary on it. Annette says "you probably already know this" if you've completed her and Gilbert's paralogue—a nice bit of continuity, but in this case, it doesn't actually make any sense, because Dedue wasn't here for that battle.Anyway, Dedue good. Dedue blushing very cute.
Bernadetta/Alois B.
Bernadetta, hello! May I ask you something?
Ah! What? Me?! I-I've seen nothing! I w-wasn't even there! You have no proof! And even if I was there, it's not a crime to find people's hobbies fascinating! I'll forget everything! I'll never tell a soul where I found them or what they were wearing or any of it! Hold on, hold on! Please calm down. It's just me.
Huh? Oh... Oh, it's you, Alois. What a relief. That's right. Your denials really piqued my curiosity, but I'm glad you've calmed down.
Did you want to talk to me about something? I did. Listen... You're always so skittish—just now, for example. But when you saw it was me, you were fine. Why is that? It's been on my mind since I delivered that package. You don't seem scared of me at all. Um, were you hoping I would be? What? Oh no, certainly not. I was just making an observation.
Well, I guess it's because you remind me of my uncle. He's the only one in my family who's ever been kind to me, and he's the only man I can talk to normally. Actually, I'm fine with the professor too. So I guess that's not completely true anymore. The preceding line would be missing if we were playing as Abby. My uncle and I never did talk that much, but we didn't need to. We just understood each other. Anyway, you really remind me of him. So talking to you feels comfortable. Ah, so that's why! At last the mystery's solved. Your uncle and I must be quite alike. Is it my face, my physique? Kind of, but I think it's more your personality.
My personality? Yeah, you're always so bright, cheerful, and gentle. You put people at ease. Well, I'm honored to hear you say so. I'd like to meet this uncle of yours. He sounds like a genial fellow. Whereabouts does he live?
Oh... My uncle? Um... I, uh... I just remembered something. I have to go!
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
...Huh.
Anyway, Bernadetta gets her final class change.
I also opted to make Hapi a dark knight instead of a gremory—sacrificing one extra use of warp, plus double uses of her normal spells, for enhanced mobility and damage. We'll see how it works out.
The bridge was full of soldiers...and they all died. And Ferdie was there. We killed Ferdie, Professor, he used to be our friend. Do you remember those days? That last line only shows up if you didn't recruit Ferdinand, for fairly obvious reasons.
I wonder if he's talking about seeing Dimitri do this five years ago, or recently.
It's crazy to attempt this. I guess I'm crazy to go along with it. It really is sort of strange just how little alleigance Felix has to the Holy Kingdodm of Faerghus, and especially Dimitri. Yet he continues to fight with us. I guess his childhood ties to Sylvain and Ingrid are just that strong.
As long as there's a plan, I won't complain. I just, you know, wanna know there is a plan. I don't know...
Heh, well, if even you can't say, I guess it's not surprising the rest of us don't know either. I suppose we should focus on the battle right in front of us instead of what happens later.
Found a seraph robe in the Holy Tomb. Ingrid gets to use it.
That's a lot more people in the meeting room than usual.
We already fought Ferdinand at the Great Bridge of Myrddin, but...
I guess there's a good chance we'll be fighting more old friends from here on out. Again, fairly obvious what line would be missing if we'd recruited Ferdinand.
I guess we won't have much choice but to try to take Fort Merceus, on the far side of Gronder Field. It's probably too soon for us to be thinking about that, isn't it? The battle just ahead of us is far from certain.
Although it's thanks to his obsession that we're wasting no time, taking the shortest route to defeating the Empire. I just can't see a bright future for this army, fighting as we are under the banner of a prince possessed.
Even if we do succeed in defeating the Empire, I wonder what will become of Fódlan. I apologize. Whenever I'm with you, I speak more openly than I should. Please keep this between us. I mean, you're right, and you should say it. There's no guarantee that even getting to, as Dimitri said during his initial breakdown, taking Edelgard's head from her shoulders and hanging it from the gates of Enbarr, would give him any final peace. Would he even be interested in dealing with the inevitable fallout of the war—the rebuilding of the Church of Seiros, what to do with the remains of the Adrestian Empire, dividing the spoils of war, as they were, between Faerghus and the Alliance?
Let's fight our hardest to stay alive.
Yes, let's. We must both make it home in one piece.
Even considering those we are up against—friends from a time now past—I won't hold back.
I've been given permission to take part in this next mission too.
I'll finally be able to avenge my brother! I swear... I'll take down that monster! ...
Seems pretty reckless to charge right into this one. I'm not sure I like our chances. What do you think? Don't worry. I can handle it.
I don't know why you're so confident, but it does somehow make me feel better. Anyway, we've come this far. Let's just keep putting one foot in front of the other and see how far we get.
All that remains is to wait for a response from the Alliance side... For now, there are preparations to be made for the coming battle.
If it was gonna come to this, maybe I should have avoided making friends with people from the Empire and the Alliance to begin with... I don't think that's the right attitude. I just don't know, Professor. I'm having a hard time with it. It did often seem strange to me at the academy that we were studying with all these people from all over the world. But I feel like I've finally started to understand the real reason behind it. The more you get to know people from other places, the harder you'll try to avoid fighting wars with them... ...Hm. When you put it like that, it sounds not only deliberate, but like Rhea herself designed it like that. It's pretty clear by this point that Rhea's guiding principle since the War of Heroes has been, above all else, preserving peace in Fódlan, no matter what.
Sorry, I was a little lost in thought there. About all that has happened, and all that is to come... I'm sure the battles ahead will not be easy, but please take good care of His Highness.♪ The Forgotten ♪
The Great Tree Moon is finally upon us. It's time to celebrate a new year. We only get so many! Folks up top don't seem to be in the mood to celebrate though. I hate war... Another reference to new years in Fódlan beginning in their equivalent of April.
Hopefully we can avoid dragging Alliance territory through the horrors of war. I may have cut ties with my family, but I still want them to be safe and all...
If he were a bit more corrupt, he'd be much more pliable. Enough with that.
I'm not trying to pull anything funny. Just noting that he's a respectable soldier. I hear he's the sort to have drinks with his men, getting to know them personally. Just last night, he and Felix had a chat. I'm sure there's a lot to work out between them. Interesting...
Anyway, Dedue/Flayn A.
For what?
I, um... I tried to cook. On my own. It was an absolute disaster. Adding that seasoning... Adding all that seasoning. Ugh, what a mistake. Mistakes happen. But Chef—that is, Dedue! I defied your instructions! Quite blatantly, I might add. I tried to cook before I had gained mastery over the tools. I have been a terrible student... Are you going to stop teaching me now? Is that what you want?
Not in the slightest. I desperately want to learn from you. As you were, then.
You... I... Truly?! You have not disappointed me. The food itself tasted awful, of course. But there was more to it than that. I could feel the thought you put into it. The wish to please others. To be faithful to what you've learned. You...you actually ate the food I made? I did. The ingredients were chopped to perfection. You also seem to have learned how to handle fish without my instruction. I learned by watching you. You have talent. One day you will surpass me.
I was certain you would be angry with me. It is decided, then. Someday, you will exclaim that something I have made is delicious. I do not quite know how many years it will take, but I am willing to rise to the challenge. Please, help me get there! I will. However long it takes, I look forward to it. Now, your next lesson will consist of the selection and seasoning of ingredients. Of course, Chef—er, Dedue, rather. Call me whatever you want.
I suppose I've already committed.
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
"Chef Deddles" has lived rent-free in my head ever since my first playthrough of the game. You have no idea how hard I've had to keep myself from calling Dedue that on occasion.
Do you think he's forgotten about me? I'm sure he's just busy.
If that's the case, I hope he gets even busier. I'm not overly concerned about him...
Circumstances, and my wounds, have prevented me from being by His Highness's side these five years. I am grateful that you have found him for me. I am once again in your debt. Those must've been some seriously grievous wounds to keep you out of commission for five years. I guess all those scars on your face are testaments to what happened...
I'm not comfortable with this...
Ashe/Ingrid A.
For me? Ashe, this looks very costly. Antique books like this are never cheap... Wow. The cover is stunning. And the binding is still in fantastic condition.
I drove a hard bargain. Still, I'll probably have to cut back on my spending for a while.
Why did you go to so much trouble? It wasn't easy, but as soon as I came across this legend, I knew you had to read it too. Well then, I will read it. Oh, the knight on the cover looks striking. Fascinating, right? I was captivated from the moment I laid eyes on the cover. There's an aura of stoicism intermingled with beauty—even amid a gruesome battle. Wait! Looking closer at the face... This knight is a woman! Yes! And she was a real historical figure! She was born into a noble family and bore a Crest, but she was accepted into the king's service as a knight. She fought in many battles at her king's side, serving him all her life as his right hand. Oh, sorry. I-I've said too much! I didn't mean to spoil the story for you. I'm just so excited. I hope you enjoy it too. Thank you for the encouragement, Ashe. Living as a knight is certainly not an easy task. I know it will mean much pain, strife, and heartache. But I still want to pursue that dream. Talking to you has reminded me... I'm not the type who gives up easily. That's the Ingrid I know! So to start, I'm going to read this book. Great. When you're finished, and freshly inspired, we'll talk about becoming knights! Not the ones in stories either. The real thing! I look forward to it, Ashe.
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
Irrelevant observation: look at how the book is closed in that illustration. Either its back is facing up, or the book is printed so that you read it from right page to left page. This isn't the first time this has come up in Fire Emblem, either—off the top of my head, spell tome icons in Genealogy, the GBA FEs, and the Tellius games show the spine of the book on the right, basically like the illustration in that support.There's no real point to this. Like I said, it's just an irrelevant observation.
Dorothea/Yuri A.
... I'm sorry I dragged you out onto the stage, but I can't believe you're still holding it against me. I bear no grudge.
Then why do you get this stony look and face the other way any time you catch a glimpse of me? ... Oh, ladybird. Truth be told, when I see you, it reminds me of my own self-loathing...of my past.
Huh. I didn't know you were carrying something like that. You rose up from your hardships and became the lead singer for a prestigious opera, all on your own. While I made my way through the world by licking the boots of wretched nobles, watching you on stage from the sidelines. It wasn't until recently that I felt a real sense of accomplishment in my life. But recalling that first pivotal moment when I saw you on stage... You were brilliant. You shone like nothing I'd ever seen. Whenever I see you, ladybird, I'm reminded of that moment. And in that moment, I had never felt so filthy and unlovable in all my life. That's why you don't like singing? There's got to be more to it than that. Back then, the Imperial capital was swarming with disgusting nobles, all of them vying for your attention—for the love of the Dorothea. Many were willing to compromise with an inferior substitute. If they couldn't have you, perhaps someone else was capable of singing just as sweetly. You do what you must to chase your dreams. You say it left you filthy and unlovable, but my life didn't leave me unscathed either. There's not much love left in what I do.
There was once, of course. As a child, I lived for singing. No matter how hard times got, I always had that. I counted myself so lucky to have met Manuela and joined the opera. But the more I sang for a living, the less certain I was that I loved it anymore. You're a tricky one to assess. I can't tell if you're too wise or too naive for your own good. Whether or not your heart's in it now, you certainly didn't appear to hate it back then. I'd never seen you beam so...brightly...as you did when you helped me train for the performance. You might be on to something. I felt...genuinely happy in that moment. You just lost your spark for singing. Nothing more. It's how I feel about it, in a way.
That's...a great idea, actually. We'll start something new together. You and me.
I don't know about all that, now... The world is full of people who fell through the cracks, just like us. We'll take them in whenever we can and aim to become Fódlan's premier opera company. I can't remember the last time I was this fired up! Though we'll have to table it until after the war. Hm... Our own one-of-a-kind traveling opera. You know, that does sound fairly thrilling. I've no doubts it could help deepen our pockets. Leave it to you to take all the romance out of it! But I know you're an idealist deep down. Takes one to know one. I must say, I do enjoy seeing your mischievous side at work. I'll take that as a compliment. I could say the same for you too. It's exactly why I'm comfortable sharing this dream with you.
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
That's a nice idea.
Leonie/Seteth B.
Indeed. Thanks to you, I now know all about the proper use of bait. Even so, that's quite the haul! I have developed a few tricks of my own as well. In my enthusiasm, I may have gotten a little greedy. Oh. Yeah?
Once I started to catch fish, I began to pay very close attention to the number I had caught. I hear it is not uncommon for one to become a little preoccupied with that sort of thing. And when I recalled the prospect of having what I caught cooked for me, the challenge was too tempting to ignore. But alas, it seems I have gotten a little more preoccupied than is appropriate for my age. Well, that's only natural. Seeing what you've already got just makes you curious how far you can take it. It has made fishing an even richer experience for me. And for that, I must thank you. Don't mention it. Actually, I should thank you too. Oh? Yeah. Used to be, I only ever fished for food. Lately, though, I've been coming here just to relax. I do still eat the fish, of course, but I appreciate fishing in a whole new way now. Seems we have both made worthwhile discoveries. So, which is it today? Hunger or relaxation? I'd only planned to take it easy, but seeing all you've caught has definitely made me hungry. I had planned to bring all of them to you, regardless. Take as many as you please. Hey, thanks! In that case, why don't we eat together? You can leave all the cooking to me!
♪ Scales of the Goddess ♪
Thinking about that food shown off in one of the NEO: The World Ends With You trailers that's just a whole-ass head of a giant fish, served a BBQ place. I'm sure that exists IRL, but like hell am I going to check, the concept is scary.
I've gotten real lucky with the Holy Tomb this run. That'll help Leonie stay in the game.
Screw it, why not?
Might as well grab a tomahawk. No-one is going to double with it, but that's a lot of Mt for a 1-2 range attack.
I'll grab a spear, too, even if it's nowhere near as powerful.
Calico cats are super cute and pretty.
Now then...
We won't be able to move at all until the fog lifts, no matter which path we take. We'll have to be patient and wait it out... 
♪ A Dark Sign ♪
I'm listening. I lost a son in Duscur that day. I exhausted every last resource I had to investigate what took place there. I was startled to find that...there wasn't a single shred of evidence to suggest that Lady Patricia's carriage had been attacked. Go on... Apart from His Highness, whose injuries left him on the verge of death, everyone else present at the time was slaughtered. Of all the victims, only the corpse of Lady Patricia, His Majesty's second wife, was never found. Isn't that right? Hmm... Surely that means she was abducted. There was no evidence of an attack, suggesting they threatened her but did not kill her... But what reason would they have to take her? Would it not have been better to kill her? Perhaps she had some value as a diplomatic pawn. Nonsense. In the many years since that day, has Lady Patricia ever been used thus? No... Not as far as I know. Then perhaps she was used for some political gain within the Empire. Now that her daughter is the emperor, what reason would she have to keep hiding her existence? It is possible she passed away after returning to the Empire... Gustave, I know this is hard for you to hear, but just consider what it would mean if Lady Patricia was involved with that incident...
Silence, Rodrigue. I will not allow you to tarnish her memory like that. I do not mean to imply that she arranged His Majesty's murder or anything of the like. But, Gustave... I cannot shake the feeling that the tragedy was part of a much larger conspiracy. There is more to it than we know, that much is certain...
♪ Mask of Fire ♪
This is one of the knights we dispatched to the leader of the Alliance. Tell me everything you know.
Is this how the Alliance chose to inform us that they have no intention of joining our cause? Maybe it was the Empire... Yes. I would not hesitate to believe them capable of this. Whatever the truth is, the other knights we dispatched are in serious danger. It's best to assume that joining with the Alliance is out of the question now. I never expected the Alliance to help us. Anyone who stands in my way will be crushed beneath my feet...
Rodrigue and Gilbert, you fucking fools.
At least Felix is in his endgame class now.
Here we go. Next to Reunion at Dawn, this was the map I was most terrified of playing on Maddening.
♪ As Fierce as Fire ♪
And so we return to Gronder Field once more.No new enemies on this map on Maddening.
Women truly rule this world.Have I made that joke before? It's a reference to that old meme about a tweet with that sentence in it, but all of the women from Awakening who can learn Galeforce are superimposed on top of it.
That's how you tell a good joke, right? Explain it?
Constance is the lucky holder of the march ring today.
Ingrid takes the Rafail gem, in order to nullify effective damage from bow users.
Ingrid is armed to the teeth with my best weaponry.
Bernadetta and Leonie both take silver bow+s and killer bow+s. Bernadetta gets to use the brave bow+, while Leonie has Parthia.
While not as ferociously armed as Ingrid, Dimitri's got a pretty wide mix of weapons, too.
I probably should've given the cursed Ashiya sword+ to Dimitri and had Adan take the brave sword+, but this is fine.
This guy's still got a Lampos shield.
48 Mag, 26 AS, and Fiendish Blow. Cool.
The only thing Bernadetta's replacement has going for her is obscenely high Dex.
Blah blah enemey pegasus knights blah blah, you know how dangerous they are by this point.
While the Agarthan dark bishops are not as powerful as Hubert, they are just as fast.
...Gimme a fucking break...
Hunter's Boon: Grants Crit +20 when foe's HP is ≤ 50%.
Swordfaire: Grants Atk +5 when using a sword.
Stealth: Makes it more difficult for foes to target unit.
Alert Stance: If unit takes no action except Wait, grants Avo +15 for 1 turn.
Keen Intuition: Grants Avo +30 during combat with a foe 2 or more spaces away.Petra basically requires that you hit her with gambits. Her Avo is way too goddamn high on Maddening, especially when attacking her from range, and especially if she didn't do anything on the previous turn. Engaging her at melee with basically anyone is also a goddamn terrible idea. She will double everyone you have, and will deal, like, 30 damage at the absolute minimum. Good luck dodging her, too.
Edelgard herself is faster than you'd suspect an armored unit would be, and has 80 Atk. Approaching her without the use of Impregnable Wall or Blessing is difficult, to say the least.
Ignatz is more impressive than Bernadetta/her replacement, with 58 Atk and 62 Avo.
Watchful Eye: Grants Hit +20.
Bowfaire: Grants Atk +5 when using a bow.
Bowrange +1: Increases bow range by 1.
Bow Avo +20: Grants Avo +20 when using a bow.
Seal Speed: If unit damages foe during combat, foe suffers Spd -6 for 1 turn after combat.Oh, and 170 Hit. You're not gonna dodge his attacks, trust me.
This would be Raphael, if we hadn't recruited him.
Fistfaire: Grants Atk +5 when brawling.
Tomebreaker: Grants Hit/Avo +20 when brawling against magic users.
Defiant Str: Grants Str +8 when HP is ≤ 25%.About as terrifying as an enemy gauntlet user can get, really. He's also got Tomebreaker to cover for his weakness to magical damage.
Hey, future king of Almyra. Good to see you're just as terrifying as I thought.
Leicester Lineage+: Allows unit to pass through spaces occupied by foes. Multiplies experience earned by 1.2.
Charm: Adjacent allies deal 3 extra damage during combat. Bowfaire: Grants Atk +5 when using a bow.
Canto: Allows unit to move again after completing certain actions, if there is movement remaining.
Commander: Nullifies instant death effects, status effects, and movement effects, and greatly reduces damage from enemy gambits.
Close Counter: Allows unit to counterattack adjacent foes.
Flying Effect Null: Nullifies any extra effectiveness against fliers.Leicester Lineage+ can actually screw you over, it gives Claude more manueverability than you'd expect.
Failnaught: 2-3 range. 18 Mt, 75 Hit, 20 Crit, 9 Wt, 20 durability. Enables Fallen Star for holders of the Crest of Riegan. Requires Umbral Steel x3 and 2500 gold to repair.He's also got Failnaught, remember. Claude is incredibly difficult to take down between his high mobility, good Avo, and dangerously good offensive stats. His primary weakness is that while he can attack at 2-3 range, he only has Close Counter, not Counterattack. Attack him at 4 range or greater, and he's helpless.
Lysithea's replacement has Excalibur, just to really screw over your fliers.
Black Magic Uses x2: Doubles the number of uses for black magic.
Unsealable Magic: Prevents unit from being silenced.
Black Magic Avo +20: Grants Avo +20 when using black magic.She is, thankfully, really easy to take out in one hit, and also easy to outrange.
I'm not getting any younger.
A quick rollout is crucial for success here.
The bridge near our starting position is open now.
Don't struggle.
Clearing the way to the central hill. Dimitri has the spear of Assal equipped so he can regenerate some HP every turn.
Much like before, I'm not going to let the ballista user get even one attack off.
Bow knight Bernie is off to a great start.
I'll make you proud, Jeralt!
No action on either enemy phase.
Perfect spot for Dimitri to act as bait.
Lysithea is able to get in, take out one of the paladins, and get out, with Annette's help.
Constance pulls Mercedes towards the rest of the group.
Dimitri acting as bait while holding the spear of Assal has the added bonus of dealing effective damage to cavalry.
A mediocre level compared to his recent fare.
The Alliance don't do anything.
Stay alive, Bernie!
That's the other paladin down.
With the help of a Stride from Mercedes, Ingrid is able to one-round Hubert.
Constance then pulls Ingrid away from certain death, though she needed a Draw Back from Adan in order to be within range.
Petra and the units around her are going to move towards us now, since we took out Hubert.
Such are the rules of melee. We'll just have to crush anyone who isn't an ally! The fuck, man?! That's ridiculous! Don't just fucking charge in and kill anyone who isn't you! That's an awful idea!
I'm not going to hold back. I can't let down my dear old Claude. Claude spawns in his reinforcements now that we've killed Hubert. Leonie would be one of the paladins if we hadn't recruited her.By the way...
Yes, they can act on their spawn turn on Maddening, why do you ask?
The reinforcements spawning in also means the Alliance soldiers are on the move. This is where things get really dicey.
Action-on-spawn-turn flier reinforcements are the fucking worst, I tell you. It's not that bad on more open maps like this, but on maps where you don't have much space to move, positioning your units so that the fliers can't pick them off on their spawn turns can be really hard.
Unfortunately for them, Hilda and her assisting pegasus knights lined up perfectly for an Assault Troop.
Even when rattled, Hilda should not be treated lightly. She's got incredibly high AS for an axe user, in addition to her Atk, which can rival Edelgard's.
Advocate: Adjacent male allies deal 3 extra damage during combat.
Axefaire: Grants Atk +5 when using an axe.
Axe Crit +10: Grants Crit +10 when using an axe.
Darting Blow: If unit initiates combat, grants AS +6 during combat.
Defensive Tactics: Battalion endurance takes half damage.
Hit +20: Increases Hit by 20.Hilda would have 39 AS when initiating combat, if she weren't rattled—33 base AS plus 6 AS from Darting Blow.
I have to get out of here! I'll die if I don't.
Hilda, you've done well. Leave the rest to me. Maddening can't fix her weakness to magic damage or inability to attack at more than 1 range, though.
Annoying.
Had to use Dimitri's turn on finishing that paladin off.
Being on the verge of death doesn't prevent Ingrid from being able to finish off that pegasus knight.
Sorry, but this is war!
That's Hilda's entourage, taken out without being able to land a hit on me.
No action on either enemy phase...until this.
She rattles one Alliance sniper with it. Good job, Edelgard.
I appear to have gotten myself pincered by both the Empire and Alliance.
I can make this work, though. Dimitri puts himself inside that bush again.
I'll make you proud, Jeralt!
Leonie's able to pick off a stray fortress knight.
The Empire's getting close.
Claude appears to be going north, in order to preempt me retreating to the spawn area. Sneaky.
Well, this is puzzling.
Let's mark Claude's attack range. As you can see, it's really difficult to approach him—you basically need a bow knight or someone super dodgy to safely do it.
Not using Curved Shot for safety's sake was a mistake, but it didn't bite me.
Cool.
Adan and Dimitri continue to act as bait, while everyone else retreats into the ever-shrinking safe zone.
Really is amazing how I manage to keep getting myself into these situations.
Moving that close to me is a big mistake.
Claude continues to move independently of the rest of the Alliance troops, though he is closing in.
JESUS!
Well, uh. This is bad.
I can fix it, though.
Sure, this looks bad.I don't have any follow-up to that.
What Petra really needed, if they were going to give her some specific Maddening changes, was either General/Commander, or a Cha buff.
It's not a one-round, but it'll at least leave Claude at low enough HP for someone else to finish him off.If it hits. That's a pretty sizable "if."
You should run! Oh.
Oh.
Wasn't there, though? I'm not exactly a master tactician; I let myself get pincered, after all.
Well, uh. Thank you a lot, Hapi.Here's Claude's battle dialogue for Byleth, while we're here.
So, you're actually alive, Teach! It's a shame you aren't on our side.
Anyway, isn't the Empire your enemy? Us fighting seems like a waste... You're the aggressor here, asshole! Don't go "why are we fighting" at me when you're the one that started this! I was going after the Empire just fine on my own before you got involved.
Anyway, these three get locked down very easily by an Assault Troop.
Raph/his replacement's metric ton of HP makes him hard to one-round.
As you can see, rattling Petra makes her much more manageable, though her Avo is still ridiculous.
I'm sorry, Ignatz... I wasn't able to save you... The power of Atrocity.Sorry, Ignatz.
Bernadetta takes out the un-rattled sniper. She gets a really bad level, while Felix gets a pretty good one.
Yeah, I think this situation calls for a Fortify.
Oh. Oh dear.
That takes care of the mountain.
Annette dances for Dimitri, so he can get out of Lysithea's replacement's attack range.I should've really equipped Swordbreaker on Dimitri.
Yeah, I can't say I'm surprised she dodged.
That could've been really bad, phew...
It really helps that these Alliance dinguses keep trying to approach me from the burning central hill, which is reducing their Mv to practically nothing.
Alright, that's the really major problems taken care of, we're back on track.
I don't have time for you three right now, just hold still while I take care of everything else.
It should say something about how accurate Sagittae is, and how many Hit bonuses I've stacked on Constance, that she can get 65 Hit on an unrattled Petra from range.
Anyway, that's one of the most pressing threats on the map dealt with.
Begone!
That's one HP bar.
Guess I've got to!
The only Alliance units left are those three that got rattled on the hill.
Yeah, 96 Crit, sure, why not?
That's the spirit!
That's pretty good.
I can't finish the monster off on this turn, so let's have Dimitri draw his staggering blow aggro safely away from everyone else.
No action on the Alliance enemy phase.
Remember how bad things looked a few turns ago?
Hell yeah, Hapi.
It's so beautiful.
That was kind of a waste.
Bad.
I'll make you proud, Jeralt!
Well, Leonie's now an expert monster slayer.
It's just ridiculous, really. 61 base Crit with a killer bow+.
No action on the enemy phase.
Forgetting to use Curved Shot bites me, after it didn't at the start of the map.
Good thing the Scythe of Sariel is super accurate.
Guess I've got to!
No action on the enemy phase.
The Adrestian Empire's forces are down to just Edelgard and this monster.
Begone!
Cripes, it's been almost nothing but good levels for Dimitri during Part 2.
That's the spirit!
I'll make you proud, Jeralt!
Pure grit!
Leonie's going to do wonderfully once she hits level 30 and I can make her a bow knight.
Edelgard's the only unit left now.
I'm not interested in methods of dying. All that matters is when death takes place, not how.
And I have no intention of dying today. I'm sure all of the people you've slaughtered so far thought the same!
Ouch. I forgot she's got that...
Thankfully, Mercedes can use both Restore and Fortify, with a dance from Annette.
Good start...
Your journey ends here, Professor. Forever...
My adventure is never over, Edelgard.
There's the big three-oh.A'fore we go, here's the rest of the unique battle dialogue on this map, stuff we didn't see last time. This includes stuff from the Verdant Wind version, too.
Are you trying to stop me too? Then I'll just have to kill you! That one was for Adan/Abby vs. Dimitri. Calm down, Dimitri! What does it achieve, us killing each other here? Move, Claude. I have no time to exchange words with you. It doesn't matter what I'm saying, does it? You aren't even listening. But I'm not gonna budge. We haven't seen each other since Garreg Mach. You've grown lovelier than ever, Edelgard.
You're not so unfortunate yourself. And you have the aid of the professor. Frankly, I'm jealous. Now's the chance for you and the professor to leave. I'm afraid I must decline. Even if we left, we'd just have to come right back. Professor? Is that you? You're with the enemy. That means I...I'll have to kill you. I can't hold back just because I know you. Sorry, but that's war.
Wow, it's sure been a while! You're a tough opponent, Professor! There's no way you're gonna beat me! You're better off turning tail and running away!
I am helping Claude build the future of Fódlan.
Don't expect me to go easy on you. Because I won't.
In the name of His Highness, you die here.
Huh. I guess this is fate. Sorry, but I need you to please give up quietly, OK?
We all choose our paths and I've chosen mine. I fight for my lord, to the death! Oh! I haven't seen you in so long! It's such a shame we have to meet like this... Want to die? Step forward. I'll take you all.
S-so, this is it. I did what I could, Captain Jeralt... Leonie fell? Did I underestimate the enemy? Claude... Take care of my little sis...and the Alliance... Raphael! Don't worry, I promise to look after your sister... I thought I'd be able to live...just a little bit longer than...this... Lysithea... She burned too brightly, and faded too fast... Not here... Not like this...
Felix...
Phew.
That woman...we failed to capture her. I will keep pursuing. The rest of you, keep fighting! I'm so sorry...but we can't do that. I understand how you feel, but the Imperial army is closing in! I'll kill all of them! No matter how many hundreds or thousands of them there are!
You... What are you doing here?! It's too dangerous! Fall back, now! Heh.
Your Highness!
You...are...
♪ A Lonely Figure ♪
Aww, does it hurt? I bet it hurts reaaaal bad, doesn't it? But it's nothing compared to what my brother felt! You will never be forgiven, you know. I will never forgive you! You... You must be... You filthy monster! It's time to DIIIIE!
Gah... P-Professor... Do it now!
Agahhhh!
B-Brother... Help...me...
♪ The Dream is Over ♪
Your Highness... Are you safe? Please tell me... it wasn't in vain...
This punishment...it was mine to bear. There are no sins or punishments...on the battlefield... NO! Don't die... Please, don't die! Father, Stepmother, Glenn... They all died and left me behind. Rodrigue... Are you to join the ghosts who shadow my every move? This is my fault... I... I'm the one who killed you, as surely as though I had wielded the blade!
Heh. Your Highness. You have one thing...terribly wrong. None of them...none of us...died for you. I'm dying for what I believe in...just as they did. Your life is your own. It belongs to no other, living or dead. Live for what you believe in.
I am heading to Duscur. And before you start, nothing you could say would change my mind. You worry too much, my friend. So far relations with Duscur have been going smoothly, wouldn't you say? You of all people should appreciate how critical these negotiations are. Of course I do, but...for the king himself to make the journey... You must admit that it's dangerous. And His Highness is still so young. If the worst should happen... Even if the worst should happen, he would be OK.
Lambert... However... If he ever starts down the wrong path and I am not here to set him straight, I am trusting you to do so in my stead, old friend. Promise me...
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