Reporting back to Duke Ronwey, our new mission was to secure a treaty with the Dark Knights at Phidoch Castle. With three knights, three healers, and a rune fencer, I felt nearly untouchable on the road ahead. I bought Tornado for my wizard so he could strike even without direct line-of-sight. I replaced my warrior with the wizard for Golborza Plain.
That fight was easy, but it was a great chance to observe elemental matchups. I learned that having a diverse mix of elemental magic is better than unifying under one element. It lets you spike damage against weak targets and adapt on the fly. After everyone hit level 8, I replaced Rampart Aura with Constitution on Leonar (since I can’t control him effectively anyway). I did similarly for Vyce. I equipped Canopus with a Stone Crossbow, upgraded armor on the rune fencer and Vyce, and moved on.
Rescuing Cistina and Embracing Freedom
At Arkhiaopolis of Rhime, I chose to rescue Cistina.
Magic and spears proved especially effective, bypassing counterattacks from beasts, and I discovered that physical or magical cards increase damage by 50% each — they’re incredibly valuable. When Vyce sneered about being “an insect beneath the boots of my betters,” I told Cistina, “I fight to secure a future for the Walister.” That earned me the Freedom Fighter title.
Before traveling to Phidoch Castle, I equipped the Xyston spear, gave my warrior a battle axe, and visited the White Swan. During negotiations with the Dark Knight Lanselot, I had to calm Denam’s sister Catiua — diplomacy doesn’t mix well with outrage.
Back at Rhime, I purchased Paralytic Wave and a Mage Staff for my wizard, then changed my warrior into a Beast Tamer with skills in axes, whips, blowguns, and hammers. I bought him a Defender’s Ring, and gave Sara’s warrior ring to Voltare and replaced her with the beast tamer, and continued training to 11.
The Beastmaster and Party Development
Canopus gained a new skill (Huapango Winds, which inflicts stagger and wind averse on adjacent units), but since I still use him primarily for ranged attacks, I left him trained in Crossbows, Axes, Bows, and Constitution. I suspect he’ll eventually become an axe-wielder — his strength and magic balance well, and melee doesn’t get stonewalled by heavy armor the way bows sometimes do.
The Beastmaster impressed me: almost as tanky as a Knight, about as resistant as a Wizard, and surprisingly average even without a pet. He’ll stay on the roster until I can capture beasts. The Berserker, meanwhile, seems situational — that area-of-effect melee attack could be useful, but I still prefer Knights for Rampart Aura and chokepoint control, like the [1K34K6] six-tile defensive formation.
The Road to Balmamusa
Duke Ronwey, pleased with our progress at Phidoch, immediately sent us to Balmamusa to incite 5,000 Walister slaves to revolt. Dame Ravness joined us — brave, but less durable than Leonar (and, spoiler alert, not great at self-healing).
I upgraded Denam’s weapon to a Rapier, outfitted my wizard with a Magus Robe, and pushed west into Galgastani lands.
At Lake Bordu, our unit cap increased to nine, so I brought Bowmaiden Sara back with Voltare’s Warrior’s Ring. The bonus objective was to recruit a unit, so I targeted a winged archer. Their stats are identical to humans’, but flight gives a massive tactical advantage. It took six attempts at 29–31% to recruit, but success felt sweet.
In that fight, Sara could barely scratch the enemy knight, while my wizard struck for 144 damage and paralyzed groups of foes with Paralytic Wave. My Rune Fencer, attacking from water tiles, hit two targets at once and ignored retaliation. My Beastmaster dealt a solid 92 to the boss — not bad, though clearly weaker than a Warrior’s forced critical. Afterward, I replaced Sara with my new winged archer; she’s average, and this one’s objectively better.
Xeod Moors and the Balmamusa Massacre
At Xeod Moors, I brought a wizard to coax reptiles, but the battle’s victory conditions were misleading — only Beastmaster Ganpp needed to be defeated, but actually he absconds the instant either of his pets are brought to low HP, and you don’t want to leave them around! His gryphons, Berda and Obda, were serious threats, since they hit for high damage, are highly mobile, and cause stun on hit. I focused on one, which ended the battle prematurely, costing me the spoils. My cleric nearly fell after I overextended to protect Vyce and Ravness, which broke my defensive line and allowed the gryphons to slip through.
Still, finishers — which seem to ignore counterattacks — let me delete high-HP enemies in a single turn. A key thing to learn from this battle is to check your items, because Zena Wine restores Sense (removes stun).
At Balmamusa, fighting downhill, my winged units dominated from the high ground. The wizard’s Paralytic Wave stunned three of four targets, making the fight trivial.
Then came the moral test.
Duke Ronwey, through Leonar, ordered me to slaughter 5,000 Walister slaves as part of a political plot. But obedience without righteousness is evil. As the Father God commands, “Do not follow a multitude to do evil.” (Exodus 23:2)
I refused — “Stop this lunacy!” I told Leonar.
Vyce turned on me. Et tu, Vyce?
Worse, Leonar and the Duke betrayed me as well — despite my saving their lives. Vyce even took off with the premium gear I’d given him. The following battle had me fighting uphill with three archers, but with five healers, defeat was impossible.
When it ended, I held the title of Fallen Hero.
Though I refused to murder the innocent, the story marked me as a traitor. It left me conflicted — disappointed by the plot twist, but impressed that Starseer Warren’s tarot reading had been so perfectly prophetic: I did not concede to evil, I chose liberty, and I fought side by side with my family (Denam and his sister, Catiua).
