We pick back up on turn 6
with the enemy nearly wiped out.
Lex clears the path for Alec and Noish.
He'll wait on the Church. Lex leaves himself open to a death blow from the remaining barbarian, but will rely on Ambush to stay alive.
Alec takes an unlucky hit from the pillaging Mountain Thief.
Noish completes the kill.
Fin takes out the Brigand that attacked Cuan on the enemy turn.
He's on the brink of death now.
Rather than heal Fin, Ethlin takes out a wounded castle guard.
In order to keep Fin alive the Hunter needs to die, as well as the barbarian to the North of Sigurd.
Cuan takes the Hunter out
and Sigurd kills the barbarian.
I should have moved Sigurd first, to bump Cuan's accuracy up, but it worked out.
I'll have Sigurd wait by the entrance to Jungby castle. The boss units guarding the castle always target units covering the entrance.
This will allow Sigurd to fight and weaken Dimaggio on the enemy phase, so he can kill him and seize Jungby on the next turn.
The enemy tries to kill Lex
but Ambush protects him.
The castle guards both target Sigurd, and get taken down to single digit HP.
Finally, Dimaggio himself comes out.
I, Lord Dimaggio, will finish you!
He has a better weapon and stats than the other barbarians, as well as a large terrain bonus from being stationed on a castle.
But Sigurd nearly kills him anyway.
Lex heals up as our turn starts.
Fin takes out a castle guard.
And Sigurd finishes Dimaggio.
Jungby is Seized on turn 7.
Uahhh… Sir Sigurd??
Midir, are you okay!? Where’s Aideen?
I don’t know. Gandolf was here though…
Is that right… Well, don’t worry. I’ll get her back. Give yourself some time to heal up.
No, Sigurd. I must join you. I can’t begin to tell you how worried I am about her!
Aideen's sole surviving retainer, Midir.
Passable base stats. His Luck and HP growths are very low, Speed is good, the rest are average.
Midir has the Pursuit and Charge skills.
He is an excellent unit. A skillset nearly perfect for ranged combat, and he'll soon have access to bows that are quite powerful. This more than makes up for his weak stat growths. We'll use him as a boss killer later on. For now, he's a very decent ranged threat.
He kills the last remaining castle guard.
I should have left this guard alive for Sigurd to kill on the enemy phase. Not sure why I didn't.
Ethlin heals Cuan.
Azel will save this village. It's the last one still being harassed by Mountain Thieves.
I move Alec and Noish nearer to the Verdane border. We need them here for this next part.
Damn it all! Go put th’ bridge back up over Jun River. Let’s get it right this time!
Gerrard raises another army.
It's a pretty large force, for this point in the game. The AI only sends out half of that force to attempt to take back Jungby, and keeps the remaining half to defend Evans.
...Unless you position a unit within range of one of the defenders.
If you do that, something very interesting happens...
The entire force crosses over the Jun river at once.
Now, I'm not sure that this is the best strategy to beat the Prologue, but it's very climatic. I've been doing it every playthrough since I figured out it was possible.
As the barbarian horde crosses the Jun River, a man with flaming hair appears to the North.
Sheesh… Sigurd, you don’t impress me much.
Alvis will make his way toward Sigurd at the start of each of our turns, until he finally approaches him.
If any barbarian happens to attack him
Alvis will obliterate them. He is essentially invulnerable, at least to the barbarians.
Note his Attack power of 70, and the 30 point stat boosts. This is what the weapons used to slay a devil look like.
He carries the bloodline of Fala, which explains his ability to wield the Flame. There is also an unnamed purple sphere here. What it's meant to represent is a mystery.
We could just clear out of the way and let the barbarians throw themselves at Alvis, but that's cowardly.
And we want those kills.
There are two ways of proceeding from here. We can skirmish with them, inflicting wounds and retreating, then have Sigurd collect all of the kills.
Or we can gather our troops onto the advantageous terrain, and try and hold the line there.
I'll be doing the second course of action, even though the first is better from a pure power gaming perspective.
Ethlin heals Alec,
and Fin drags himself to the church to have his wounds treated.
I move Cuan here and have him equip the Javelin. I'm expecting the enemy to focus their attacks on him, as he's the most exposed.
Lex will finish off the Hand Axe wielder.
Generally, you aren't supposed to get kills with Lex. You're giving Exp to a unit that doesn't need it as badly as other units. However, I like to let Lex take a lot of the early kills. He develops quickly due to Elite, and with just a few you can get lucky and end up with powerhouse.
And he's the only unit strong enough to get a lot of them in the first place, so theirs no point moping about it.
Midir moves onto the village entrance, but does not enter.
You can see most of our units are in position, ready for the onslaught.
Sigurd will reach the front line on the next turn.
They'll have to get on without him, for now.
Alec takes a hit
and Noish dodges the Hunter's arrow.
Alvis draws near,
and Fin get's patched up.
We'll chop away at the head of the horde
and then strengthen our defensive positions.
Noish clears out of the way to make room for Sigurd's arrival.
He was sorely missed.
The Leadership bonus he provides will aid us greatly here.
Lex has been wanting to talk to Sigurd since he appeared on the map.
Actually, Azel, that little punk… he dragged me here.
You’re too much, Lex… haha. Does Lord Langobalt know you’re here?
Hell no! No offense, sir, but my father can’t stand yours. No way in hell he’d consent to me helping the Chalphys. I’m here by my own reckoning.
Well, we’ll do what we can. Those barbarians have had their way long enough.
I have trouble deciding on the next move, so I jump over to Azel and have him enter the village.
It’s no surprise as the Chalphys are all descended from Baldo, the God of Light. If we just had Lord Byron’s Holy Tyrfing, those barbarians wouldn’t have a prayer!
Cuan hits this barbarian with a Javelin.
Then falls into line to speak with Sigurd.
We heard about your skirmish with Verdane. We’re here to fight.
How about Lenster? Don’t you have Thracia to keep an eye on?
We do. That’s why I only brought Fin. My father took command of the Lance Ritter.
I see… Geez, sorry to drag you in to all of this, Cuan.
Sigurd! Did you already forget about our pact?
Huh?
Remember the academy? We all met at the military academy back in Barhara. It was the three of us. You, me, and Eltshan. We were talking late that one night. And we took a vow to help each other out if one of us was ever in a bind.
That’s right. No… I haven’t forgotten.
Ok, then. Let’s get to work and rid yourself of this little nuisance. Don’t forget, Sigurd. I’m always here for you. Especially in times like these.
Ethlin speaks to Sigurd.
I was so worried when I heard about Verdane’s invasion. I’m just glad you’re okay.
You didn’t think I’d lose to Verdane, did you?
Yeah, but I heard you only had a few soldiers in Chalphy. And I know you, Sigurd. You are always jumping into this kind of stuff without thinking. Especially with Father being away… I knew I had to come.
Heh heh… you’ve always had your head on straight, haven’t you… You know you did a great job filling mom’s shoes after she passed away. When you married into Lenster’s royal family, I swore we had a lady on our hands. But you’re still the same old Ethlin. Poor Cuan! Hahaha!
Sigurd! If I’m a nag, it’s because of you and dad! If both of you weren’t such slobs!
…Yeah, you might have us there. But we still appreciate everything you’ve done. Ethlin, I’m sorry you had to come all this way. I can’t thank you enough.
Sigurd…
I move Ardan here, where he'll hold the flank of the line by himself.
Alec gets himself out of the way and attacks this Hunter.
Fin kills this barbarian, but takes a counterattack
Ardan gets hit.
Another Hunter shoots Midir, but Midir kills him in retaliation.
Their assault continues for a while, but is not effective.
Turn 10.
Sigurd has to stay behind and talk to Alvis, while Cuan and Ethlin will break out of formation and attempt to capture Evans.
The rest of our units will try to destroy the barbarian army.
They're heavily wounded from attempting to break our line, so it shouldn't be difficult to at least cripple them before their turn starts.
Fin actually dodges a 94% chance to hit attack, then finishes off his opponent.
Lex is making himself useful.
Noish clears the way for Cuan and Ethlin.
They make their move.
We're almost finished.
Alec enters the last village.
Duke Ring had himself twin daughters and a son. However, Lady Aideen’s twin was abducted by pirates as a youngster. The son, Sir Andrei, joined his father on the campaign to Isaac. You didn’t hear it from me, but there seems to be quite a bit of friction between the two.
(3500 gold obtained!)
Sigurd uses his Iron Lance to slay a Hunter.
The Steel Sword wasn't strong enough to take this one out, as he was at full HP.
Midir takes out a Hunter, takes another hit.
The last two units of the barbarian army attempt to kill Ethlin, but she was never in any real danger.
Alvis finally reaches Sigurd.
His Majesty was worried, so he sent me to assess the state of the conflict. He also sent this with me. It’s for you.
Whoa… a silver sword! He wanted me to have this? What an honour! Lord Alvis, please express my sincerest gratitude to His Majesty.
Will do. By the way, I heard my brother Azel has joined your army.
Yeah… sorry. It sounds like he came behind your back. I couldn’t just turn him away. If at all possible I’d like him to stay with us for a bit longer.
Well, keep him safe. Azel’s my only brother. We may have different mothers, but he still means the world to me. I wish he and I got along better, but that’s the way these things go. Sigurd, I’m leaving him with you in good faith. Show him the ropes, okay?
I’ll do that. I’ll see if I can get him to return home once we finish up here.
I appreciate it. Well, I need to get back to Barhara to watch over His Majesty. Don’t let me down, Sigurd.
Time to wrap this up.
Sigurd will be using his Silver Sword from now on.
It raises his Attack by 4, putting most enemies within killing distance after only one round.
Our army gangs up on and kills the last Hand Axe barbarian.
All that's left is Evans. Gerrard doesn't stand a chance, but he can hold Sigurd off for another turn, and we don't want that.
(If you're not playing for low-turn count, what are you playing for?)
Cuan will kill him before he becomes a problem.
Or try.
I should have had more units breakout with Cuan and Ethlin. Gerrard is fucking Cuan up here.
Gerrard attacks, Cuan misses again. I really messed up here. There was no need to keep a line formed by that village at the end, and with help it'd of been easy to take down Gerrard.
There's still hope. Just need a Lover Critical, or a Continue activation, or both.
I deserve this.
Looks like we won't be seizing on turn 12. There's still a chance, but it's a small one.
Lex and I came to help you fight Verdane. We came as quick as we could. Please, let us fight with you.
Geez, I could never ask you to fight. Does your brother, Lord Alvis, know that you’re here?
Er… no, I doubt it. He’s back in Barhara commanding the Royal Guard. Actually, he specifically forbade me from stepping outside the capital.
I bet he did! Have you considered the consequences of leaving like you did?
Yeah, but… I shouldn’t say this, but Alvis scares the living hell out of me! I don’t think I live up to his expectations. I… I feel like I’m just a burden on him.
Well, you have your reasons. I’m glad you came, Azel. You stay as long as you want.
Thank you, sir!
That's the last conversation for this chapter. I'm going to try and get all conversations during play while keeping a low-turn count.
There's a chance for Sigurd to kill Gerrard with a Sibling Critical here. Sibling Criticals works the same way a Lover Critical does- 20% chance of occurring.
I don't get it.
Sigurd finishes him off on the next turn.
Prince Gandolf's got her.
We seize Evans on turn 13.
It's possible to clear the map much faster than 13 turns.
I think the earliest you can Seize Jungby is Turn 6, Turn 5 may be possible with 2 early Strength Level ups for Sigurd, but I'm not sure, don't want to check.
From there you can get the Silver Sword from Alvis in 2 turns, the rest is messy and I don't know what you'd do.
Anyway, it's possbile to get a lower turn count here but it's a pain in the ass and not worth it. I'm disappointed I couldn't get the chapter clear in 12 turns, but it was caused by a relatively minor error so it's not that bad.
Verdane must have taken her away before we arrived. I hope she’s alright.
Grr! I’m hunting those bastards down! We’re getting her back!
His Majesty is exceedingly pleased and has ordained you a Holy Knight of the Kingdom.
I hardly deserve such a great honour! I pledge my allegiance to His Majesty.
We gravely need your help in protecting these castles. You will be duly compensated. Of course the sum will go down if the castles incur any damages. Please continue to be vigilant in the ensuing battle.
Into the forgotten heart of the world, the first steps on a long path.
Chapter 1 - Girl of the Spirit Forest
with the enemy nearly wiped out.
Lex clears the path for Alec and Noish.
He'll wait on the Church. Lex leaves himself open to a death blow from the remaining barbarian, but will rely on Ambush to stay alive.
Alec takes an unlucky hit from the pillaging Mountain Thief.
Noish completes the kill.
Fin takes out the Brigand that attacked Cuan on the enemy turn.
He's on the brink of death now.
Rather than heal Fin, Ethlin takes out a wounded castle guard.
In order to keep Fin alive the Hunter needs to die, as well as the barbarian to the North of Sigurd.
Cuan takes the Hunter out
and Sigurd kills the barbarian.
I should have moved Sigurd first, to bump Cuan's accuracy up, but it worked out.
I'll have Sigurd wait by the entrance to Jungby castle. The boss units guarding the castle always target units covering the entrance.
This will allow Sigurd to fight and weaken Dimaggio on the enemy phase, so he can kill him and seize Jungby on the next turn.
The enemy tries to kill Lex
but Ambush protects him.
The castle guards both target Sigurd, and get taken down to single digit HP.
Finally, Dimaggio himself comes out.
He has a better weapon and stats than the other barbarians, as well as a large terrain bonus from being stationed on a castle.
But Sigurd nearly kills him anyway.
Lex heals up as our turn starts.
Fin takes out a castle guard.
And Sigurd finishes Dimaggio.
Jungby is Seized on turn 7.
Aideen's sole surviving retainer, Midir.
Passable base stats. His Luck and HP growths are very low, Speed is good, the rest are average.
Midir has the Pursuit and Charge skills.
He is an excellent unit. A skillset nearly perfect for ranged combat, and he'll soon have access to bows that are quite powerful. This more than makes up for his weak stat growths. We'll use him as a boss killer later on. For now, he's a very decent ranged threat.
He kills the last remaining castle guard.
I should have left this guard alive for Sigurd to kill on the enemy phase. Not sure why I didn't.
Ethlin heals Cuan.
Azel will save this village. It's the last one still being harassed by Mountain Thieves.
I move Alec and Noish nearer to the Verdane border. We need them here for this next part.
Gerrard raises another army.
It's a pretty large force, for this point in the game. The AI only sends out half of that force to attempt to take back Jungby, and keeps the remaining half to defend Evans.
...Unless you position a unit within range of one of the defenders.
If you do that, something very interesting happens...
The entire force crosses over the Jun river at once.
Now, I'm not sure that this is the best strategy to beat the Prologue, but it's very climatic. I've been doing it every playthrough since I figured out it was possible.
As the barbarian horde crosses the Jun River, a man with flaming hair appears to the North.
Alvis will make his way toward Sigurd at the start of each of our turns, until he finally approaches him.
If any barbarian happens to attack him
Alvis will obliterate them. He is essentially invulnerable, at least to the barbarians.
Note his Attack power of 70, and the 30 point stat boosts. This is what the weapons used to slay a devil look like.
He carries the bloodline of Fala, which explains his ability to wield the Flame. There is also an unnamed purple sphere here. What it's meant to represent is a mystery.
We could just clear out of the way and let the barbarians throw themselves at Alvis, but that's cowardly.
And we want those kills.
There are two ways of proceeding from here. We can skirmish with them, inflicting wounds and retreating, then have Sigurd collect all of the kills.
Or we can gather our troops onto the advantageous terrain, and try and hold the line there.
I'll be doing the second course of action, even though the first is better from a pure power gaming perspective.
Ethlin heals Alec,
and Fin drags himself to the church to have his wounds treated.
I move Cuan here and have him equip the Javelin. I'm expecting the enemy to focus their attacks on him, as he's the most exposed.
Lex will finish off the Hand Axe wielder.
Generally, you aren't supposed to get kills with Lex. You're giving Exp to a unit that doesn't need it as badly as other units. However, I like to let Lex take a lot of the early kills. He develops quickly due to Elite, and with just a few you can get lucky and end up with powerhouse.
And he's the only unit strong enough to get a lot of them in the first place, so theirs no point moping about it.
Midir moves onto the village entrance, but does not enter.
You can see most of our units are in position, ready for the onslaught.
Sigurd will reach the front line on the next turn.
They'll have to get on without him, for now.
Alec takes a hit
and Noish dodges the Hunter's arrow.
Alvis draws near,
and Fin get's patched up.
We'll chop away at the head of the horde
and then strengthen our defensive positions.
Noish clears out of the way to make room for Sigurd's arrival.
He was sorely missed.
The Leadership bonus he provides will aid us greatly here.
Lex has been wanting to talk to Sigurd since he appeared on the map.
I have trouble deciding on the next move, so I jump over to Azel and have him enter the village.
Cuan hits this barbarian with a Javelin.
Then falls into line to speak with Sigurd.
Ethlin speaks to Sigurd.
I move Ardan here, where he'll hold the flank of the line by himself.
Alec gets himself out of the way and attacks this Hunter.
Fin kills this barbarian, but takes a counterattack
Ardan gets hit.
Another Hunter shoots Midir, but Midir kills him in retaliation.
Their assault continues for a while, but is not effective.
Turn 10.
Sigurd has to stay behind and talk to Alvis, while Cuan and Ethlin will break out of formation and attempt to capture Evans.
The rest of our units will try to destroy the barbarian army.
They're heavily wounded from attempting to break our line, so it shouldn't be difficult to at least cripple them before their turn starts.
Fin actually dodges a 94% chance to hit attack, then finishes off his opponent.
Lex is making himself useful.
Noish clears the way for Cuan and Ethlin.
They make their move.
We're almost finished.
Alec enters the last village.
(3500 gold obtained!)
Sigurd uses his Iron Lance to slay a Hunter.
The Steel Sword wasn't strong enough to take this one out, as he was at full HP.
Midir takes out a Hunter, takes another hit.
The last two units of the barbarian army attempt to kill Ethlin, but she was never in any real danger.
Alvis finally reaches Sigurd.
Time to wrap this up.
Sigurd will be using his Silver Sword from now on.
It raises his Attack by 4, putting most enemies within killing distance after only one round.
Our army gangs up on and kills the last Hand Axe barbarian.
All that's left is Evans. Gerrard doesn't stand a chance, but he can hold Sigurd off for another turn, and we don't want that.
(If you're not playing for low-turn count, what are you playing for?)
Cuan will kill him before he becomes a problem.
Or try.
I should have had more units breakout with Cuan and Ethlin. Gerrard is fucking Cuan up here.
Gerrard attacks, Cuan misses again. I really messed up here. There was no need to keep a line formed by that village at the end, and with help it'd of been easy to take down Gerrard.
There's still hope. Just need a Lover Critical, or a Continue activation, or both.
I deserve this.
Looks like we won't be seizing on turn 12. There's still a chance, but it's a small one.
That's the last conversation for this chapter. I'm going to try and get all conversations during play while keeping a low-turn count.
There's a chance for Sigurd to kill Gerrard with a Sibling Critical here. Sibling Criticals works the same way a Lover Critical does- 20% chance of occurring.
I don't get it.
Sigurd finishes him off on the next turn.
We seize Evans on turn 13.
It's possible to clear the map much faster than 13 turns.
I think the earliest you can Seize Jungby is Turn 6, Turn 5 may be possible with 2 early Strength Level ups for Sigurd, but I'm not sure, don't want to check.
From there you can get the Silver Sword from Alvis in 2 turns, the rest is messy and I don't know what you'd do.
Anyway, it's possbile to get a lower turn count here but it's a pain in the ass and not worth it. I'm disappointed I couldn't get the chapter clear in 12 turns, but it was caused by a relatively minor error so it's not that bad.
Into the forgotten heart of the world, the first steps on a long path.
Chapter 1 - Girl of the Spirit Forest
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