Toggle Background Color
Oh boy. This chapter.
Watching a magic user get thoroughly dunked on sets the stage quite well for this, actually.
This is the requisite "chapter with way too many deployment slots". I have 17 slots to work with and, uh, not that many competent units, so a lot of prepromotes are coming off the bench for this chapter only.
And here's what I mean by my earlier comment. While the original NPCs on this map weren't exactly competent, they also weren't this pathetic.
This Pupil by the chests on the right side of the map has Bolting, but his stats are so bad that he can't really make it count.
Rennac is up here because I needed a healer with this group, and Artur, Lute and Vanessa shouldn't need too much healing.
And immediately he finds another Siege asshole, but Shadowshot proves to not be as scary as Bolting.
While a good chunk of the army shuffles off towards the east side of the map, Joshua gets the party started!
The fact that some of the enemies are Brigands don't really help the NPCs' cases, either, as this Pupil immediately hits himself in the face with Thunder and dies thanks to Devil's Luck.
This Valkyrie picks on the Mogall in an attempt to make Aura look like it isn't actually utter shit, but it doesn't work.
Killer Lances are still scary!
Even with weapon triangle advantage, these guys are Bad.
Except for the Bolting guy who actually manages to get a kill! 
This corner of the map is basically "A Bunch Of Enemies Die, Also Rennac Is Here".
It's good to have Seth back, even if his low HP is still very concerning.
Maybe he can siphon some of it off of Ewan.
Not even Mansel is spared from the randomizer fucking with people's stats. 0 speed...
Joshua is, surprisingly, a very good pick against Devil enemies. Sure, Life and Death makes him take more damage, but he has such high HP that it doesn't really matter if he takes the hit.
Hawkeye Myrmidons have returned, and they still don't give particularly good levels.
...How fitting that I bring up Joshua's HP, and then he gets a level of just HP.
Neimi gets the first actually good level off of a Luna Druid.
Oh boy, more Mage Knights! I'll have to take care to see which ones have Devil's Whim and which ones don't.
Hey, look at that, Rennac actually got Magic! ...and also Devil's Whim. 
You know what? His levels aren't gonna get any better, let's just get this out of the way.
Wyvern Lord has a lower strength cap than Knight, but frankly I'm just tired of having promoted units that are locked to lances.
Neimi status: Still invincible.
We've come such a long way from Sharp Claws being the scary potential run-enders they were back in 5x.
Lute's low defense still makes them scary, but her other stats make up for it.
Hey, stop stealing my experience! 
I was impressed by the Bolting kill, but this is just a dick move.
Eirika took the Member Card to go shopping and - oh. The other promotion items are more expensive than Master Seals. It's a good thing I don't need any more, then! I do at least grab a Physic staff, though.
Rennac gets another level off of an Entombed Vanessa weakened. Gee, Rennac, you couldn't have invested some of your massive Skill stock into Magic to begin with?
Meanwhile, Neimi and Joshua are tasked with holding the front lines. She now has a natural 30% crit chance before factoring in other bonuses. 
The one time someone manages to hit with a Longbow and it's a critical 
Oh, good, the game is giving me more Lunatic+-tier skill combinations. Vantage+ and Dazzle means no counterattacks on the enemy phase, and no crits on the player phase. It's a good thing this guy has Aura and not an actually threatening spell.
Also, the first skill there is Slayer, the Bishop's original class skill, making them deal effective damage to monsters at all times.
It's also a good thing that he decided to park himself right in front of Joshua. 
Dozla pops open the door to the treasure room, and in doing so reveals the boss... or should I say he's been Riev-ealed? :dadjoke:
Ah, look at that, the same irritating set of skills Aias had, yet even more annoying because he has Duelist's Blow as a personal skill instead of Spur Defense! Fortunately, his HP and Defense are a lot lower by comparison, so he's not so much threatening as he is incredibly annoying.
Tana is even more unstoppable with Life and Death. 
Hey, this is pretty good!
Vanessa gets a bad level as we continue to deal with the enemies at the top.
Lute finishes off the Druid she was fighting for a slightly better one.
Ewan makes his promoted combat debut. Despite taking a hit here, he holds up pretty well.
A bunch of fellow Mage Knights attempt to strike Kyle down for using forbidden magics, but he gives them the Evil Eye and they all fall.
And now, for a quick Treasure Interlude, as a bunch of allies with Chest Keys all got to the chests at the same time as Dozla did to the treasure room.
Hey, this is pretty good! It's a little heavier than the vanilla Light Brand, but stronger and more accurate to make up for it.
Another double Life and Death situation leads to Tana overkilling this poor Great Knight and getting an extra Killer Lance out of it.
It's amazing how far Ewan's bases have carried him, but they're really starting to taper off.
Artur's aren't, though!
Lute mops up some more monsters for a pretty decent level.
My Great Knight is greater than yours. 
This level isn't so great, though.
Some enemies come out of the dark by the other treasure room, but even L'arachel can take this guy.
Stop doing that!
Seth lifts a fresh Killing Edge off of a Mercenary, which is always appreciated.
I'm glad I'm getting a good stat boosting item repeatedly as opposed to, like, Goddess Icons.
Lute has nothing to worry about, even with Slayer being a thing.
This is still a pretty big clusterfuck, and we're only halfway through.
More skill means even more crits!
Ah, this looks so much better.
I'm surprised this guy held out so long...
This level is pretty alright.
This is at least better than Joshua's previous level.
L'Arachel is still getting levels, too!
So is Saleh. 
And the treasure ends on kind of a wet fart.
Here I thought Riev would be as annoying as Aias, but his lower defenses work against him a lot. This one hit brings him low enough that he's pretty much a non-issue. Nothing short of luck will save h-
While I recover from that, Ewan gets a level that's already better than his previous ones!
Yeah, yeah 
He gives a pretty good level, too!
And... I forgot the chapter ends when you beat Riev, so that's all, folks! 
We already have Latona. What "wonderful" "treasures" will be bestowed upon us now?
An Energy Ring is very nice, as is the... second... copy of Garm... 
Realistically, the only S-rank axe user I'm going to get is Joshua, so it probably won't see any use. Too bad they don't have Arms Scrolls in this game...
NEXT TIME:
Riev returns with a vengeance.