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Scenario 12
No Mercy

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Seriously, what's with some of these scenario titles - they are getting more bizarre! First it's Sad Pursuit, next we'll have Laughing Retreat, Crying Wolf and eventually, "Egbert & Bernhardt's Best Friend-Ship Adventure."

With the self-proclaimed protectors of the Holy Blade in full retreat, the Empire was able to claim victory. With Langrisser in hand, the company has begun its march back to Castle Rayguard to turn over the sword to Kaiser Bernhardt. But believing the opposing swords can never serve one master, Jessica began plotting a new attack against the Empire. The Descendants of Light, declaring total war on the Empire, are about to clash with Octavian and his company again.







Some changes to our equipment - Octavian grabs Langrisser & Dragon Scle, since last map was too close a call; Rohga tries his hand at magery and grabs a Wand & Necklace for tanking; Leon takes the Long Sword and Vargas grabs a War Hammer & Crown.





Here's a Royal Lancer from Leon - it's strictly better then a Dragoon with AT30, DF21 (AT+2, DF+1 compared to Dragoon). Also, there's Vargas's Leviathan which is a strong monster unit that gets bonuses from water tiles. Now let's have a gander at this mission's map, which is another brand new one!



It's a big'un and we're going to have to play a bit more defensively given the two secret tiles close to our starting positions, that we definitely want. I think holing up with Rohga and some Phalanxes should deter a strong cavalry charge whilst he throws out Magic Wand-assisted tornadoes left and right. Combine him with Hein and eventually Imelda and we'll be cooking up a wind/fire/meteorstorm of epic proportions. Let's take a look at this plan on the map:



Now, I've changed up our starting formation a little, putting Leon at the back and Octavian with High Elves in the middle. So, since we're getting ambushed, lets keep it short and on point - With Langrisser in hand, take out all who are foolish enough to stand in our way!





The soldiers are in formation, Princess!

Great. Keep me updated.



We're ready and willing to engage the enemy, Cherie.

Excellent. I'm happy things went well. And sorry I'm late...
If it weren't for Liana's management, we'd still be forming up.

Cherie, don't be so modest! Without your instructions, I'd have been totally lost!

It seems the Princess has finally become a seasoned tactician.
You'd never know she used to sneak off whenever I assigned her to study war history...

Keith! Stop ruining my image!

Octavian...?

So, the Empire has finally made its move. Troops, move into position!

...





When His Majesty holds Langrisser, victory will be all but ours.
Any opposition would crumble before such a weapon...

If we deliver the sword, everyone will soon be at peace, right?

Yes, that's true, Hein. The nations of this world won't know peace until the Empire brings it to them.
Very soon now, this continent will be one of quiet order.



Not if I can help it!

Hmph! How bothersome...

Your goal is so naive...
For there to be true peace, there must be mutual trust.

Yes, what a beautiful fantasy that is... Sadly, we live in an imperfect world.
The way to peace is through enforcement, through the might and justice of one grand Empire!

Yes, we will stitch this tattered world back together. You see... Now, we have both blades - Langrisser and Alhazard.
Against their power, all opposition will join or surrender. War will end. Bernhardt's ideal, his vision...
Our power will build it step by step, blow by blow.

I think not. Alhazard and the Empire...
Nothing good can come of them. Darkness can't bring light, and evil can't bring peace!

Yes, and you hope for peace while waging a futile war! Peace will come easily if you simply give up.

As I thought, we can't make you understand our position.

It's bad enough that the Kaiser has the Dark Blade, Alhazard...
If he also obtains Langrisser, we'll be in deep trouble. Block them from the Imperial Capital by any means necessary!

So, you're still in our way? We'll just have to go through you, then.

Octavian... Why must you fight us?

I'm fighting for the only legitimate reason. I want to bring peace.
I wouldn't fight you, Liana, if I didn't have to...

Aaahh... Octavian...
Why do we meet in battle when we have the same wish?

Liana...

Trying to talk things out never solves anything.

That's... pretty pessimistic from an avatar of the Goddess of Order.

A first rate manoeuvre, using the girl against Octavian like that!

Hitting the nail on the head, but let's start up the map. Nothing much of interest occurs on Turn 1 since we're going for secret tiles and playing defensively, so let's jump straight to Turn 2.

We've got to win here, or we'll never retake Langrisser. Cast aside all other concerns.
We must fight as one to the very end!



He's blue! The forces of Light are black, blue and chockful of women - the Empire oppresses everyone else and is mostly full of men. Did the creators of DL want to express a battle between progressive and conservative elements, specifically in regard to the gender equality issue?



No, most likely not. As I learnt in high school English class, you can take just about anything and imbue symbolism and read meaning into the most banal things.



Go, now!



So, some of their forces move up but Jessica, Cherie and Keith do not move. Time to bring the pain, starting with the main man - Hein.





Two more Dragoons go down to Hein's Ballista. The rest of our forces take up defensive positions whilst Vargas continues holding the river and going for the secret tile. Imelda on the other hand can nab her tile this turn.



Will you try and dig it out?
Yes but I'll use the camp followers to do the labour, No, my pauldrons demand I do not dirty them - I must obey
Obtained Arbalest.

What is an Arbalest, you may ask? It's essentially a heavy crossbow that could punch through armour and be accurate up to 300m. It's something you wouldn't want to trifle with lightly. In game terms, it turns Rohga into a Ballista unit at the cost of nerfing his AT & MV. Here's how we ended up at the end of Turn 2:





Everyone is within range of an enemy, so Vargas should be able to lure some Phalanxes into the river where the Leviathans can crush them. Everyone else is ready to smash into the right flank with Hein's beautiful meteors. Turn 2 is over but on the enemy's turn, nothing much happens, just some units push up and the rest heal up. Time for some naked aggression but first, Vargas wants his item.



Note, it's not a rock of crack - I nearly made that mistake upon first glance, so just clarifying.

Will you try and smoke touch it?
Yes, I like ripping mother nature untimely from her womb, No, I, Vargas know respect and love for all of mother nature's creatures
"I am the spirit of the flower. Thank you, kind-hearted human. I will grant you one wish."



I wish for strength, so that my cute little roly-poly daughter can look upon her father and admire his strength.

AT & DF raised by 1 point!

Time for Vargas to regroup and lash out.

Grrraahhh! Blazing Dragon Navy Army, bash them down!
Skewer them on our Imperial claws blades! Gah hah hah!



Now, Hein begins the counter-strike with his giant fuck-off meteor, after which our ranged units follow up to take advantage of the enemy's softened state.









So I'm dying, am I... Hah hah... How... strange... Ugh-arrghh...

Level up! AT+1, DF+1

Langrisser... Langrisser can really do that...?

So Octavian & Hein deal a great blow, but now it's Rohga's turn to get stuck in there and eventually, fire off a sweet Tornado. But first, his men take out some of the minor enemy forces. Leon strikes out on the flank in a one-two combo.









So Leon claims 4 Grenadier scalps and nearly decimates the commander's health. I do worry about being vulnerable to a magic/ranged attack from the west as you can see in the image below.



However, I am entirely certain unless Team JCK decides to move, we'll be perfectly fine on the southern front - although Vargas looks to be under a bit of pressure with 3 units on his heels. Still, Turn 3 has been a doozy but very successful. What will the Forces of Light do on their turn?



No one can hope to match me!







Unless the enemy's get reinforcements soon, I feel like I've already won. Perhaps my cockiness will be my undoing? Let's keep going though. No points for guessing the first move of this turn.





Rohga's really coming into his own, let's hope his sister can rub off on him.
Maybe our other frontliners can take some inspiration from him and cause major damage.



:dibs: Ooohhh-! I, I wasn't prepared for you to be this strong...

Level up! AT+1, DF+1, MP+1

Ladies and Gentlegoons, Leon just got demoted, so say hello to Major Damage! Back to the Blazing Dragon General now, to see how he compares to the Major.



Not bad for someone who's distracted from his newborn child and is trying to use a troop type he isn't familiar with. As well as terrain type he's not used to - dude is taking notes from Imelda's playbook. That's Turn 4 and we're in good stead to wrap this up within 3 turns. The enemy tries and fails to hurt Rohga's men again - case in point:



Let's start wrapping this thing up and add a bow at the end.







I, I lost...

The others move down and Vargas continues his one man rampage from the river.





Level up! MP+1



And that's it for Turn 5, Vargas has one more generic unit to kill whilst Rohga will be in range of Cherie's cavalry next turn. He should then be able to cause some general destruction. Though, Hein is getting to dangerously sexy levels of damage.



Hein has 3 Ballista, they can each kill 1 Dragoon - you do the math
My forces regroup and cover one another's vulnerable units. Vargas tries to bait the last unit into the river.





And that's Turn 6 - I believe there was one more turn for my prediction? I know now that I will fail at finishing up since there's one more secret tile that I've missed. Also, Jessica & Liana are too far away for poor Leon to smite. Let's breeze through these final turns.





Hein takes out another - he's really making Cherie look like a joke... with his sexiness. Octavian moves into position to shoot Cherie down.

Cherie, please don't do this. I don't want to kill you.

No! I won't give up! If I defeat you, we can take Langrisser... and stop this all!

It sounds like you have made up your mind... Prepare yourself, Cherie.





Uugghh-! This can't be...

Princess, please retreat!

But...!

Now is our chance to end this! They may have a skilled commander, but we know the terrain!

Understood... Sorry I've troubled you...

You may know the terrain Keith, but if you're unwilling to exploit all of your forces then this was bound to happen. There is one thing I, as the God of War, excel in is defeat-in-detail strategies. AI dudes need to learn to zerg rush and break through our lines lest they suffer my wrath. *cue rabid mary-wargod-sue fanfic writing*





Oh





shit. Sorry Hein, I just wanted you in range for a wicked meteor next turn. At least we know if you retreat a bunch you get sent to heaven in your ending.



Ugh-! I won't falter even in the face of death!

I'm guessing Leon said this in response to one our allied commanders dying.





Th, that sword...

I had hoped to do more than this...

Aahhh... Why did things turn out like this?
How can you keep living with so much blood on your hands, Octavian...

Level up! AT+1, DF+1





Argh... This is it...

Level up! AT+1

Leon charges in to prevent another tragedy like with Hein.





Level up! AT+1

So... one thing I realized at this point, I ended up completely neglecting Imelda once she grabbed her item. Next map, you'll have your pick of the slaughter, Admiral. Two turns to go, we should have this wrapped up on Turn 10.



There... won't be a second chance.

The Empire is a terrible foe, indeed... But we can't turn back now.

That's right. If they get both Langrisser and Alhazard...
It... It will all be over...

Fighting is not justified for any reason.
But if you have to choose one, fighting to stop a war... is the most appealing. That's what we're doing here.

Your daily morality lesson goons, thanks to Miss Liana.

Cast aside all else! Fight with everything you've got!

Octavian... How, how can I fight against you...?

If you've haven't realized it by now, Octavian will be striking down Liana. Being God/armchair general can be so sweet sometimes.

Octavian, the Imperial Capital lies beyond. No matter what, you won't pass!

... Octavian... You and I share the same hatred for war. Why were we made to battle one another...?
I... I do not know... But I cannot overlook the danger that Alhazard poses to this world!

Y'know Liana, didn't you get taught that God works in mysterious ways and that one should trust in His infinite wisdom.





Aahh... How could I... have lost-

It seems that I'm the only one left... Everyone else has turned tail and fled. Such craven comrades...
But you'll find I'm different. I'll fight to the very end!



Rohga heals every he can up and gets a sweet level.

Level up! AT+1, DF+1, MP+1, Blast was learned!

Also, it turns out the secret tile wasn't worth it so let's just finish this.

I must defeat anyone who gets in my way, even Liana.

Why!? Why must we fight...?

I have to fight my family... I have to fight my dearest friends... Such is war...
This is why I must end it!



Aaahh-!

Liana!?

Why have you changed, Octavian... I, I...

I don't want to fight you, Liana! I know you don't agree with me, but we don't have to kill each other over it!
I beg you, don't come to another battlefield. Wait... wait somewhere safe for this war to end.
You deserve to live...

...
I can't do that, Octavian. It breaks my heart to fight you, but I won't run away.
Everywhere I look, I see pain and sadness... The Empire isn't a solution to that.
Octavian... Cast away any lingering doubts. From now on, we are enemies.

Liana retreats...

Liana... Our ideals are important to both of us...





Level up! AT+1, DF+1, MP+1!

Sorry, Liana...

You're much too naive. Children can't survive on the battlefield, you know.

Despite what multitudes of JRPGs tell us, Imelda is utterly correct - child soldiers is a terrible facet of humanity.

Maybe you're right. But compassion comes naturally to humans. It's not weak, it's who we are. Why do you turn from it?



We don't. If we abandoned our hearts, we would be worthless, bloodthirsty marauders. I agree, war is horrible.
If it were gone forever, few would miss it. With Rayguard comes order, with order comes peace. They refuse to see this...

We will quickly rid the world of war.

I am resolved to this course of action. Because no one else can achieve this goal faster than we can.

I see... Well, let's head to the Imperial Capital. His Majesty is waiting.

In spite of the time and effort involved, we've no other choice.
All right, everyone, let's head to the Imperial Capital!

fade to black





Indeed!

Your praise is more than we deserve...

We will gladly endure any trouble for His Majesty's benefit.

So this is Octavian, I have heard of you. I understand you're a major factor in the fulfillment of this mission.
Please continue to work hard for our Empire.

Yes, Sir!

Very soon, we will launch a swift attack from Rayguard.

At last, the Empire has both swords. Because of that, we will fear nothing.
Steadily, our invasion will commence. And so we take our first steps toward unity...

For this stratagem, you may count on my assistance.

Even Lord Egbert?

That's right. Though we've come far, failure is not permissible.

And the first target?

Place your bets now, goons.

The target is Salrath. Each of you, hurry on and prepare your men.

Yes, Sir!

Vargas leaves...

I shall return bearing good tidings of our victory.

Imelda leaves...

Octavian. I entrust this operation to your command.

To me?

This is Egbert's suggestion. Your lead gives us our greatest advantage.
Langrisser will lie in your hands, for no others can wield it. Except Leon, of course.

Understood. I shall do my best, for the sake of continental unity.

Very good. I look forward to your labour's fruition.

Just leave it to me, Your Majesty.

Octavian leaves...

I swear to make Your Majesty's dream a reality!

Use force as needed. Make each nation understand our might!
Remember we strike to quell all resistance - both present and future.

Sir, yes Sir! Now, I ask your leave.

Leon leaves...

Ah, it seems my predictions were not mistaken.
With Your Majesty's support, I believe we will bring peace and end darkness on this continent.

I'll trust your judgement with regard to demons. And so, if you don't mind?

As you wish...



Heh heh heh... Time to see if this withering husk of flesh is still worthy of the battlefield. Hmph!
Level up! Class Change!



Egbert is a fully offensive caster with choices between damage, utility and summons. Since Hein is already Magister Extraordinaire, Egbert will be focused on summons - hence a Necromancer -> Summoner -> Zauberer.

Level up! MP+1, Salamander was learned!
Level up! AT+1, MP+1
Level up! MP+1
Level up! AT+1, DF+1, MP+1, Thunder was learned!
Level up! MP+1
Level up! AT+1, MP+1
Level up! MP+1
Level up! AT+1, MP+1
Level up! MP+1, Class Change!



Level up! MP+1, Tornado & Iron Golem was learned!





Well I guess joining up in the end of chapter cutscene still counts as being a part of the team for the chapter!? Anyway, Egbert's now actually weaker then Imelda though his summons should prove to be quite fun, plus I can throw some of the Odin's Bucklers on him and see what happens. I just wish he was a bit stronger - like Tier 3 Lv 5 at least. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. So join us next time when we cause some permanent character deaths as one should expect when the map is literally called "Genocide".