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Hello everyone, and welcome back to the FINAL battle against the Grandbellian conspirators! Last time, we took down Langbart; but this time?
We're going to grind everyone up as high as we conveniently can; preferably up to Level 26 w/44 EXP. That's exactly how high they need to be before an Elite Ring wearer can get to Level 30 in the Arena. This is crucial to keep in mind, because we have 487 non-Fin levels to meet, and we don't want to waste time doing so!
In fact, that's also why we didn't level up earlier. Enemies were worth less EXP in the early chapters, and these Axe Knights are high level, easy to dodge, AND are locked to 1 Range! They're great EXP fodder; to the point where I thought my Real Time gains would offset the Turn costs. But we need to accomplish a few things before we can take advantage of this:
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1) We need powerful swords. Most of our guys will be using the Uber Hero Sword; but Silver Blades, Steel Blades, and Silver Swords will also work.
2) We need to distract Slaydar. The reinforcements dry up the moment he dies, but he also has 9 Move compared to his men's 8. He'll die WITH his men if we aren't careful, so we need to bait him with a juicy target. This can be a Priest, someone locked to 2-Range, someone at low health...anyone that would be less threatening than, say, Beowulf. And said person needs to be close enough that Slaydar can get them, but also far enough to where his cronies are forced to attack the one with the Elite Ring.
3) But we can't just distract Slaydar any ol' way we want to. We ALSO need to move him in a way that robs his men of his Leadership stars. Otherwise, his men gain +10 Hit.
4) We need Sigurd and Lachesis to give Evade boosts (and Lovers, if they're available).
5) We need one or two healers on hand.
6) We need someone like Fury to Return the Elite Ring wielder. This allows them to pass the Ring to someone else, and that person will then sprint towards Lubeck.
7) Finally, we need at least one strong person WITHOUT the Elite Ring on hand. They'll kill the reinforcements while we wait for the new Elite Ring user to arrive.
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Back to the game; I really do love the Grandbell Army theme. It first played when Andre massacred Mahnya and her squad, so that REALLY helps it have a feeling of brutality.
'Course, they stop being impressive when they pick on someone their own size.
Case in point! Note that Beo does NOT have the Elite Ring yet; I left that with Tiltyu and Levin.
However, THOSE two are now at Level 39, and Beo's gotta return to the castle. So!
Turns 8-9: Beo buys the Elite Ring, gets himself to Level 26 w/44 EXP off the thugs at our castle, gets to Level 30 in the Arena, and then passes the Ring and Uber Hero Sword to Noish...
Who then runs to the fray with Bargain Ring, Speed Ring, Skill Ring, Pursuit Ring, Elite Ring, and Uber Hero Sword in hand. Meanwhile...
Tiltyu and Levin are catching up on lost time...
And Aira's smacking fools around like it ain't no thing. And while she waits for Noish's arrival...
Turns 10-15: Jamka gets himself some Gold. Next...
Noish gets himself to Level 27 off two more waves, and brings the Uber Hero Sword to it's full potential! This took a reset to accomplish, but oh well. No Losses were incurred.
Aideen was more than willing to move some numbers around in the Arena. Speaking of which...
Turns 16-19: Noish has gotten to Level 30, and now it's Alec's turn!
4 hits + 50% base crit + 12 Might = The touch of death! Even when in the hands of...
Azel. Fricken Azel, of all people, gets to ORKO an entire Axe Knight platoon!
I mean, that's not THAT impressive, considering that Aira's been doing that for several turns now...but still. Good thing that sword of hers lasted as long as it did...
That all said, Azel's still a somewhat flimsy target compared to the previous combats. So I had Fury fly here as an added distraction to Slaydar. The Hard A.I. is much less random than the Normal A.I., so feel free to switch it to Hard if you can.
I'll be honest guys; when I started this LP, I never thought I'd see this 
. Although that took a reset too.
Turns 20-21: Now, we get three more people up to Level 30.
MWAHAHA 
!!
Oh, and Dew gets himself to Level 28...
Right before helping Ardan prepare for his grinding session!
STEP 1: Ardan purchases the Bargain Ring and Uber Hero Sword before selling his Iron Sword...
STEP 2: Sugard daddy Dew gives him about 33,500G...
STEP 3: And then Ardan sprints off to Lubeck as quick as he can. 5 Move is kind of a drag for the kind of maps FE4 has, but...he'll get there.
Dew, meanwhile, is tapped. So he liquidates his stuff and leaves the castle.
Meanwhile, our main group gets in formation so that Slaydar...
Can take another crack at em'. It...goes about as well as you'd expect.
I made a mistake in not equipping the Silver Sword; that would have granted me +10 Evade, and made it easier to cleanly ORKO these knights. Holyn managed to do so ANYWAY, but only because he procced Lunar Sword twice, and then got an extra Strength point.
Turns 22-23: 
.
Ah! There's Dew playing a game of Hot Potato with his new beau! No need to SPEND that Gold on anything, oh no!! Level 30's the name of the game here!
Oh, and Levin got married. That's neat I guess.
There! THAT'S the weapon Holyn SHOULD have been using!
Turn 24-30: Oh hey Ardan, good to have you. Now if you could just...
There you go, that's the way! Vantage + 50% crit + Hero Sword + Pursuit + High Strength = Profit!
Of course, there is some risk to life and limb present in fighting the 1st wave here; each knight has about a 44% chance of hitting Ardan, and his Defense was still relatively low at the time this GIF was made. I had no Losses on my Combat ranking, so I decided to just take a chance instead of resetting at 8 HP; but be careful if you haven't done as well as me. You're only allowed 3 Losses, and there's no way to get rid of them without restarting the chapter.
Turns 32-36: It was all worth it though! He's still 222 EXP short of the EXP threshold though, so the Uber Hero Sword's just gonna have to break till we get that done. Zaxon's just too far away for us to turn back now, and Ardan's gotten +7 Defense since the 1st wave. He'll be fine.
Now, Slaydar gives a cool 44 EXP...
Ardan breaks the Hero Sword after killing three more henchmen...
And then these dudes stop right here, ripe for the killing.
This guy here is an especially juicy target, because...
Ardan landed a lucky crit on him last round, and has enough to kill him on this one. That's right! Even with 0 Might, 30 Accuracy, and 30 Weight, Ardan's Broken Sword is STILL enough for him to 2HKO! Provided enough luck, of course.
As for the others, I leave only one left; and only as EXP chow for Ardan.
And Fury's more than happy to get some Gold while softening Ardan's food for him.
Still not quite enough to get Level 26 w/44 EXP for Ardan, so I also gave two Ballistae kills to him and Sigurd (Sigurd always appreciates the Light Sword kills, and Ardan can't reach em').
Here's another Village!
Grandbell did subdue Isaac, but there still is some commotion going on over there. Apparently the people of Isaac are desperate to see Prince Shanan return.
So I guess the impression we're supposed to get from what Langbart and him are saying is this; Dannan WAS able to quash their main military easily enough. However, the civilians themselves are proving to be a more difficult challenge. It's not “some little uprising”, as Langbart called it; it's a whole slew of mass uprisings that are happening all over the country. Each one isn't that bad on their own, but there's a lot of them; far too many for the Graun Ritter to get in one fell swoop. They'll win, sure...but it's gonna take them longer than they expected.
And that's not even counting the difficulties of trying to fight in a completely foreign land, where the terrain is different from back home, and where your “huge army” has to sustain itself entirely off of supplies from way back home.
Anyway, Ardan's got everything he needs now. Now how are all of our lovely bachelors and bachelorettes doing?
Yeah, there we go!
Whooooo!!!
WAIFU SIMULATOR HAS BEEN COMPLETED !
Now let's see if we can get any closer to rescuing Sigurd's one-and-only...
Sigurd: Oifaye, I need a favour of you.
Oifaye: Sure. What is it?
Sigurd: Isaacian territory is just northeast of Lubeck, right? Langbart’s oldest son, Dannan, has been stationed in Isaac ever since their defeat. But I’m willing to bet his authority hasn’t reached the outskirts of Isaac. So...
Oifaye: Just a second! Are you suggesting I leave you all and head for safety!? Forget it! I’m not leaving your side, sir! I’m here till the end!
Sigurd: Oifaye, I hate to impose on you, but please understand my situation. I don’t want to lose Celice. He is not even two yet. But I can’t fight and take care of him. Oifaye, please. I want you to take Celice and go to where it’s safe. You are the only one who I can feasibly count on to do this.
Oifaye: …Alright, I’ll do it. …I’ll guard him with my life. But you have to promise me something. When this war is over you must promise to come get us. Otherwise, I’m not leaving.
Sigurd: Of course. I promise. I’ll come for you.
Oifaye: Okay.
Shanan: And I’m not handin’ him over to Oifaye or anyone until she says it’s okay!
Sigurd: Shanan, come on… I know how you feel. I’m not any happier than you are about Deirdre not being around, but this is for the best.
Shanan: Forget it! It’s my job! Besides, Isaacians hate you guys. You send Oifaye by himself and he’ll be in big trouble! I’m the prince of Isaac. I can protect him better than anyone. Besides, I promised I would.
Oifaye: I know you don’t want to get him involved in this. He is still pretty young. But he can hold his own. His presence would add a level of safety I can’t provide in Isaac.
Sigurd: Hm…
Shanan: You got it! I’m gonna get even tougher, you’ll see. No one’ll lay a hand on him! And I’ll tell him all about Deirdre, too!
Oifaye: I’ll be praying for our victory.
Sigurd: Thanks, Oifaye. Stay well.
Oifaye: Will do!
...Whoa. Well that got dramatic all of a sudden. I mean, I know Langbart wasn't exactly a pushover, but things haven't gotten THAT bad. I wouldn't be stressing out just yet...
An' hey! It's Dew! Dew's always good for a laugh, right?
Dew talks to Jamka:
Ha! Nothin' can rain on Dew's para-
Dew: Everyone’s been sayin’ that, and I’m sick of it! What’s up with everybody? We’re just about ready to win here, but everyone’s bein’ all weird.
Jamka: Er… Sorry, Dew. Yeah, you’re right. I am a bit on edge. I’m not sure why.
Dew: Jamka, look. I like you. You’re a nice guy. I know I caused you trouble before… Anyway, I’m sorry.
Jamka: Dew! What are you getting all mushy on me for? Now you’re the one being weird.
Dew: Yeah, I just… Never mind. I’ll see ya later.
...Okaaay?
Jamka: Hmm… Dew’s also sensing something.
Umm...ok, guess both of them are kinda out of it today. Maybe try Aira and Sigurd?
Sigurd talks to Aira (man the music in this game is good):
Huh. So Shanan and Oifaye weren't the first people Sigurd's shared this with; he's been thinking on it for a while.
Sigurd: Huh? You were entrusted with Shanan’s protection, but he’s in Isaac and you’re here!
Aira: Ah, you’re talking about the promise to my late brother. My job is finished with Shanan. He’s old enough to look after himself now.
Sigurd: Yeah, but…
Aira: I will return to Isaac as soon as this war is finished. And when that day comes, Sir, you too will be able to return to your homeland.
Aira's come quite a way from Chapter 1, huh? Girl hated Sigurd's guts back then, but now...well, I guess marrying Lex has kinda softened her attitude on us Grandbellians. Kind of weird that Shanan never got a new portrait though; guy doesn't exactly scream “I can protect Celice from anybody!"
Lex talks to Azel:
Lex: Huh? Ah, you mean my dad?
Azel: Yeah…
Lex: Yeah… Well, I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t feel nothin’. But I tell you, it serves him right. He killed a lot of innocent people.
Azel: Boy, you’re strong, Lex. I start to shake just when I’m around Alvis.
Lex: I can’t figure your brother out. I never thought of him as a bad guy. He was always kind to us.
Azel: Yeah, he always meant more to me than my dad did. But sometimes I feel like I don’t even know him. He can get pretty violent.
Lex: And thats why you left your pad. Am I right? I don’t see any problem there, Azel. You’ve got your life, and he’s got his.
Azel: Yeah, I suppose.
Wow; that was exposition there. But, it was delivered naturally! “Alvis is a violent enough guy that even Azel isn't totally sure how he feels about him”... That's clearly the main point of this conversation. But the game draws your attention to Lex first, then transitions into Azel's doubts once they can come up naturally. It's not a bunch of talking heads winking and nudging at the audience like it was in some of the OTHER scenes we covered; it felt like an actual conversation. It's short, it's subtle, and it still leaves things on an ominous note. I have to give props where props are due...
And I also have to criticize myself when self-criticisms are due. Because while that was the last NEW conversation...there was one I forgot from last update 
.
Aideen talks to Brigid (available at the start of Chapter 5):
Aideen: Yes, he killed our dear father, and Mahnya as well. He must have been possessed by something evil to do such unthinkable things.
Brigid: Well, that doesn’t matter ’cause I’m going to kill him! His little killing spree is over. Aideen, you’re with me on this, aren’t you?
Aideen: Brigid...
Brigid: I wish there was another way, but the crimes he has committed weigh heavily on us as well. Look, I may go down for what I’m about to do. I just wanted you to understand my reasons.
Aideen: Yes, Brigid.
I REALLY don't know how I forgot that, but...there you go. Now;
Let's get Holyn closer to the other village...
And let's see what happens.
*GASP* The cavalry has arrived! Literally!
Cuan: I heard Sigurd’s troops are coming south through the Yied Desert. So if we head north, we should meet up with them at some point.
Ethlin: It was so kind of you to agree to help my brother… especially with your father being so sick. But making enemies with a major power like Grandbell… Well, it really concerns me about Lenster’s future.
Cuan: Ethlin, Lenster may be a small country, but it’s a country of warriors. My entire family is descended from the Crusader Noba. In a war of justice there is no loser. My father wants us to give this battle all we’ve got. Ethlin, don’t worry. I have the Gaebolg with me. I’m not going to fall with this at my side. Anyway, I really believe I can help Sigurd out.
Ethlin: …I know you will.
Cuan: Ethlin, we’re in enemy territory now. You better head on back. The fighting may start anytime.
Ethlin: Cuan, I’ve been thinking. I… I’m coming with you. I want to see my brother again, and I just can’t stand to leave your side!
Cuan: No way! You said you were only coming part of the way. That’s why I let you bring Altenna along. Look at her sleeping on your lap. She’s only 3 years old! What would you do if we were suddenly attacked!?
Ethlin: I’ll keep her safe with me!
Cuan: I would have never brought you along in the first place had I known your intentions!
I dunno Cuan. Look what happened when Sigurd tried to get Deirdre to stay put; at least this way, you can keep an eye on her.
Ethlin: But Altenna wouldn’t stop crying… I (sob..) had to bring her! But you’re right… You’re right. I’ll go back.
Cuan: I’m sorry, Ethlin. I know how you feel, but you just gave birth to Leaf, as well. Our children need you. Look, Fin is in charge of Lenster. Please go back and wait for me.
Ethlin: Okay, but let me stay with you a little longer… just a little. Please, Cuan.
PFAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yeah, I think we know how that ends, don't we 
?
Cuan: Well… okay, but keep it short.
Yep. He fell for it. Cuan fell for the ol' “foot-in-the-door” technique. You give an inch, you give a mile! Oh that's funn-
Trabant: Let’s bid a fine farewell to Lenster’s Lance Ritter! The desert’s hinderin’ their movement. No way they can put up a fight here! Let’s move! The future of Thracia is in our grasp!
SHOOSHOOTSHOOTSHOOTSHOOTSHOOO-
Ethlin: But… but what about you?
Cuan: Ethlin, they’re like a pack of hyenas. They’ll show no compassion for a child! Thracia has been after our country for quite a while. I left half of our military behind with Fin in case of a surprise attack by Thracia. But I never dreamed they’d come after us… I’ve made a grave miscalculation!
Ethlin: Cuan, don’t give up yet. We can take ’em if we fight together! Now let’s do this!
Cuan: Ethlin… thank you!
Well of course you can beat them. I mean...
Ok, so Cuan's at a pretty severe Move disadvantage; but we can also see that Trabant's men don't have any ranged weapons. And we also saw how pathetic they were in Chapter 3. So Cuan's men still have a pretty decent sho-
......
Horseslayers...they have horseslayers...OF COURSE THEY DO! WHY NOT?! But Cuan's pretty awesome, right?! Surely he can...
Oh... Ooooooooohhh....Trabant's got a Holy Weapon too. A better one, actually.
And Pursuit...and Nihil...and enough Leadership Stars to give himself and anyone nearby +40 Avoid and Hit... Oh, but hey! Ethlin's got the Relive Staff! So even if Cuan takes a beating, he's got himself an ace in the whole! There's no WAY he can lose if he's got healing and Trabant doesn-
...have...that...
...
Ok, so I guess Alvis lent Trabant his Recover Ring for this one. But hey! It's still two-on-one! It's not as though Trabant's got anyone else-
...with him...?
Guy no-sells everyone except Cuan, 3HKOes Ethlin, cleanly ORKOes all of Cuan's men...and gives +20 Hit and Evade on top of that. So Cuan's clearly not winning this one; not without some help.
In fact, I'm not sure they could do it even if we did everything possible to baby with RNG manipulation and rings and stuff. Trabant is literally immune to critical hits, his men are more than a match for Cuan's, and he's apparently borrowed Alvis's Recover Ring. So what we need to do is get Sigurd off his laurels, and just have him bum rush; BUM RUSH himself ALL the way out...
...theeeeeere... 
....
...
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AAAA RANKED RUN STATS:
Time Taken This Update: ~42 minutes and 28 seconds
Total Time Elapsed Over the Run: 13 hours, 18 minutes, 6 seconds~
Turns Taken This Update: 29 Turns
Total Turns Elapsed Over The Run: 195 Turns
Levels Gained This Update: 61 Levels
Total Levels Gained: 516 Levels
Things I Regret: In the Prologue, I regret the fact that Noish had to hang back as I rigged levels for Sigurd in the Prologue.
In Chapter 1, I should've brought Midir to guarantee that Kinbois's men would be taken down without issue.
On Chapter 2, I regret the fact that Ardan built up so many love points with Aira even though that pairing's been written out of the route, I regret making that positioning mistake with Fin, and I wish I hadn't made that careless mistake with Sigurd attacking that guard near Boldo (even if it did end up working out). I regret deciding to not just get Deirdre to Level 30 by the end of Chapter 2. I regret wasting something like 12 minutes rigging Aideen a win against Keimos, when it ultimately didn't end up doing much for Jamka anyway. And I could have manipulated Dew's Gold a bit better so that Aira got just 18,000G instead of 22,470G.
On Chapter 3, I regret selling Deirdre's Aura tome! I'll bet she TOTALLY could've kicked Manfloy's butt, if ONLY I hadn't taken that away 
!!
On Chapter 4, I regret not having Claude turn around sooner. I also regret not repairing the Return Staff before giving it to Aideen.
On Chapter 5, I regret not having Dew sit tight after slaying that General; I didn't really accomplish much by moving him around outside, so I probably wasted about a minute or so.
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Level 20-30: 45 > 54 HP, 22 > 24 Str, 6 > 7 Mag, 16 > 19 Skl, 12 > 14 Spd, 7 > 11 Lck, 16 > 21 Def, 5 > 6 Res!
Level 26-30: 45 > 47 HP, 17 > 18 Str, 6 Mag, 23 > 24 Skl, 18 > 20 Spd, 11 > 13 Lck, 19 > 20 Def, 5 Res!
Level 7-26: 39 > 57 HP, 17 > 24 Str, 0 > 2 Mag, 6 > 8 Skl, 5 > 8 Spd, 3 > 5 Lck, 14 > 21 Def, 0 Res!
Level 24-30: 46 > 51 HP, 7 > 9 Str, 21 > 23 Mag, 16 Skl, 15 > 16 Spd, 10 > 11 Lck, 11 Def, 11 Res!
Level 29-30: 46 HP, 7 Str, 24 > 25 Mag, 11 > 13 Skl, 21 > 22 Spd, 24 Lck, 5 Def, 12 Res!
Level 24-30: 44 > 46 HP, 17 > 20 Str, 5 Mag, 17 > 20 Skl, 27 Spd, 22 > 25 Lck, 15 > 16 Def, 6 > 7 Res!
Level 22-26: 44 > 47 HP, 20 > 23 Str, 1 Mag, 30 Skl, 26 Spd, 5 Lck, 9 Def, 5 Res!
Level 29-30: 53 > 54 HP, 5 Str, 25 Mag, 27 Skl, 30 Spd, 16 Lck, 10 Def, 17 > 18 Res!
Level 24-30: 49 > 54 HP, 19 > 23 Str, 0 Mag, 27 > 30 Skl, 23 > 24 Spd, 9 > 10 Lck, 17 > 19 Def, 3 Res!
Level 7-8: 33 HP, 3 > 4 Str, 1 Mag, 4 Skl, 13 Spd, 9 Lck, 2(9) Def, 7 Res!
Level 23-26: 51 > 54 HP, 22 > 23 Str, 3 Mag, 26 > 27 Skl, 21 Spd, 5 Lck, 16 Def, 4 Res!