Chapter 18: Mistaken
The battle against Walhart's final army began on the southern side of the capital's outer wall. The Shepherds were quick in capturing all the fortress on the outside. As per their standard protocol, they kept the injured inside, as well as stationing the archers to prevent any reinforcements from entering. With the Shepherd's superior cavalry brigade, all enemy ground units were picked off quickly and efficiently.
They, too, stationed themselves in the captured forts on the eastern and western sides of the courtyard. Finally, Walhart's personal army was cut down to only a few stragglers, his two other generals, and himself.
The generals moved defensively in front of Walhart and covered him with their great shields, who peered down upon the Shepherds from upon his horse and glared at them with disgust. They had left his army in shambles in a impressively short amount of time.
"Lucina, draw your rapier! We'll take out the Generals. Robin and Cloud, think you can handle the Conqueror?" Chrom shouted behind him.
"Leave it to us!" Robin shouted back, running alongside Cloud.
Lucina and Chrom dashed at the generals, their paths intertwining with each other. They danced around them with unprecedented speed, dodging their spear thrusts whilst alternating their stabs into a crisscrossing attack pattern.
"Behold: I am Walhart the Conqueror! And you are but a pebble upon—" Cloud swung the Lohengrin so hard that it made a sharp hissing noise as if he was cutting the air itself. Walhart blocked the blade but was visibly shaken, and also disappointed with the soldier interrupting his speech.
"Very well. I will test your will against—" Cloud swung the Lohengrin again. This time he jumped and aimed for his head. He quickly spun around in mid-air, and while Walhart was able to somewhat block the hit, his own sword staggered and hit himself violently in the head, the blow giving him a concussion and leaving him in a daze. But even in such a state, he swung his blade wildly in order to force Cloud and Robin away long enough for him to regain his bearing. After Walhart reevaluated the situation, he immediately galloped his horse, and retreated further into the capital. Robin quickly chased after him, but in a fit of desperation, Walhart threw his sword at him to slow him down.
"Damn that coward Walhart! Shepherds, he is retreating to the capital. This battle is our victory!" Chrom cheered.
"The scouts have brought their report: Walhart has regrouped an army at the royal capital. We need to strike soon before any southern reinforcements arrive." Frederick relayed to Chrom, who stood quietly, lost in focus. The Shepherd's officers once again stood around the table within the strategy tent discussing about the monumental battle to transpire tomorrow.
"So they've limited themselves to the castle..." Robin nodded his head.
"You have a plan?" Chrom asked.
"We should do this by the book: Send in the raider squadron, they do their damage and retreat immediately. We then follow up by sending our ground units, who are more suited to the indoor battle. Just take the battle slowly, and the raiders cover the exits should Walhart attempt to retreat again."
"Perfect." Chrom smiled. "When do you plan on attacking?"
"I planned for sunrise tomorrow. However, this is all assuming that Walhart's reinforcements don't arrive before then."
"And if they do?"
"They could catch up to us before we even had our change to attack." Robin sighed. "I don't like our narrow window of opportunity, but I also hate the idea of sending in the raiders at nighttime. Walhart is expecting us, so its likely that the enemy prepared an ambush. Coupled with a night time attack and they will have the clear advantage. I have faith in the raider's abilities to lead the siege... however if we lose them, it will be almost impossible to take the castle with only ground units."
"Noted." Chrom weighed the options silently. Either way, they were taking a gamble, but should they make the right choice, it would be an easy win for the Shepherds.
"It's your call, milord." Frederick reminded. Chrom folded his arms.
"…Send out more scouts. I want them to patrol the path to the capital. If they have any signs of an ambush, the raider squadron is to retreat and regroup with our main force and we will work off of there."
"Understood, milord. I will send out the scouts right away."
In less than an hour, Chrom received word that the scouts were in place. There were no signs of an ambush, so by the time the sun set, Chrom ordered to send out the raider squadron, and the rest of the Shepherds followed soon after.
Three grueling hours passed. No word from the Shepherd's raiders.
Robin's face nervously twitched as he waited for the scout, who finally arrived much later than he had anticipated.
"Commander Robin, the raider squad… they were…" The scout choked out between breaths.
"…Ambushed." Robin finished. The scout nodded.
Robin's blood ran cold. It was worse than they had feared. Not only was their entire plan ruined, but they had also lost time and the reinforcements were coming.
"I'm calling a direct-action order: override your previous orders from Chrom. Pull out the scouts, the Shepherds are going in now!"
"Yes, commander." The scout quickly departed. Robin frantically ran to the stable.
"Robin! What are you doing?!" Cloud and Aerith watched as he jumped onto a horse.
"Aerith! Alert everyone to advance to the capital now! The raiders have been ambushed and we need to save them immediately! Cloud, get on a horse, we're leaving first!"
"Damn it! Alright, let's go." Cloud jumped on a horse and the two rode off, following the path to the capital and retracing the steps of the raiders.
"How did they get ambushed when we sent scouts?!" Cloud shouted to Robin.
"I have no idea! The scouts were ordered to set up a perimeter to identify an ambush, unless—"
"Risen?!"
"It has to be!"
After galloping at full speed for what felt like the longest ten minutes of their lives, Robin and Cloud finally found the bodies of the raiders, and a horde of Risen among them.
"Gods, were we too late?" Robbin shuddered when he saw all the fallen Shepherds.
"Snap out of it, Robin! Kill the Risen first, mourn for the dead later!"
Cloud galloped his horse and tore through dozens of Risen in his path. A group of Risen Pegasus riders surrounded Cloud and he spun the Lohengrin overhead catching each Pegasus's legs as they tried to dodge his charge. The riders fell to the floor, and Robin picked them off.
"Stahl!" Robin noticed the olive-haired Shepherd still breathing. He jumped off his horse and ran to his side. "Stahl, get up!"
"…Robin?" Stahl smiled when he saw his face. "…It's no use. I can't feel my legs… just… just leave me and help the others."
"I'm getting all of you out of here! Now just grab on!" Stahl shook his head at Robin's naive nature, but raised his arms up weakly. Robin grabbed it and hoisted him onto his shoulders and threw him on the horse.
"A-are the others okay?" Stahl asked weakly.
"They're going to be fine, now get out of here!" Robin slapped the horse and it galloped along the path back to where the Shepherds' camp were. All that was left was to pray that the horse would make its way back on its own.
It was then that Robin found the bodies of the rest of the Shepherd's raiders. Their bodies lay sprawled on the dirt, face down with heavy gashes all around their bodies. Their bodies formed a communal pool of blood, suggesting they desperately fought off the ambush together. But they still lay there, with coated in blood, viscera, and mud.
They were dead.
Cloud felt uneasy. He continued to slice the Risen enemy like they were butter, but he couldn't shake this unusual yet familiar sense of danger.
He galloped at a Risen cavalier at full speed, holding the Lohengrin in two hands. The cavalier raised his lance to joust his opponent, and Cloud went for the swing, the cavalier instead aimed for his horse. He impaled Cloud's horse in the head, which thrashed around in pain, throwing Cloud off and onto the floor before dying on the ground.
The cavalier made a circle and came galloping back to stab Cloud. He switched his grip to hold the Lohengrin upside down and then threw it at the cavalier, impaling him in the chest. He fell off his horse and disintegrated.
He picked up the sword before instinctively jumping back.
The ground in front of him exploded in a cloud of dust, leaving a resounding shriek of metal scraping together.
"I knew it..." Cloud muttered. "The raider squadron... aren't the type to be killed by just a couple of everyday Risen."
From the center of the dust cloud, the figure shrouded in the haze revealed itself to be an outrealm risen knight.
It placed his greatsword back on its shoulder. Even Cloud was amazed at the size of this weapon.
Huge was an understatement.
The size of this weapon as well as its flattened tip made it much more accustomed to a bladed club than a sword. To any other man, the size of this weapon was undoubtedly impractical. It would take at least two regular men to lift it, much less swing it, however the strength of these knights was quite literally not of this world.
He finally revealed himself from the shadows of the forest. His armor was composed of exclusively black iron, and was extremely heavy plated by the looks of the chest piece. He carried a large black greatshield which was large enough to cover his entire body, which he himself towered over Cloud. The sheer size of the knight and his weapon left a murderous aura in his vicinity. There was no doubt in Cloud's mind: this risen knight was responsible for the raider squadron's demise.
Cloud took the first move and immediately thrusted the Lohengrin to attack his abdomen. It couldn't even so much as scratch the heavily plated armor!
This knight swung his enormous sword with only one hand, creating a deadly arc that would have cleaved anything in its path. Cloud tried to block the swing with his Lohengrin and although he was strong enough to take the hit, the ground itself under Cloud could not take the force of the blow, and Cloud slid backwards, out of range.
'The weight of that sword...' Cloud grit his teeth. 'Even if I were able to cut off his arm as he swung it, I would be cut in half myself just by the momentum of the swing!'
Cloud rushed at the knight, flipped through the air to gain speed. He brought the Lohengrin down in a mighty swing to attack the knight from above, where he could not get hit by his sword, but he knight brought up his greatshield, dispersing the impact of Cloud's attack.
'I'll have to stagger his defenses to create an opening.' Cloud remembered. He had been in this situation before, with the first Outrealm knight, who likewise relied heavily on his shield.
'He won't be able to parry with a shield of that size, especially when I'm using two hands.'
Cloud swung the Lohengrin twice, colliding it with the greatshield. The knight swung again in retaliation, but Cloud backflipped from reaction and continued his assault, purposely targeting his shield.
Cloud let loose another barrage of strikes on the greatshield, his defense against the strikes were continuously weakening. Cloud was sure that the next strike would stagger him until the knight rushed into Cloud with his shield.
He shoved the shield so hard that it not only deflected Cloud's strike, but also smacked him backwards, staggering Cloud instead of the knight.
'He's going for the follow up hit, I have to move!'
When the knight ran at Cloud, he did yet another backflip to dodge the... feint. The knight continued to run at Cloud while he was still in midair to attack him as he landed.
'He read my dodge?!'
Cloud frantically tried to block the devastating sweeping slash from the knight's greatsword with his own sword, even pressing against it with two hands, however it wasn't enough, and Cloud's sword flung back and the greatsword tore through Cloud, cutting him halfway through his torso.
Any regular man would have died there.
If Cloud had not slowed the greatsword's swing, he would have been cleanly cut in half. His injuries were seemingly mortal, as the blade stopped just short of his spine.
Cloud writhed in pain on the ground, biting his lip in pain until they bled too. The pain made his head spiral out of control and he fought the desire to close his eyes and accept death.
"Stand up!" The voice echoed in his brain. "Fight on! I don't care how much it hurts right now, you have to fight!"
Cloud finally let out a scream in pain, but he pulled himself upright using his sword. He took off his combat armor and finally ripped his shirt down and wrapped it as tight as he could to cover the bleeding for as long as possible. He could barely breathe from how tightly he wrapped it, but it was the only thing preventing him from dying of blood loss.
"This… isn't over!" Cloud grit his teeth, with blood pouring down the sides of his mouth.
The knight rushed Cloud again and went for a running stab attack. It took every ounce of Cloud's strength to start moving, but he slid to the left moments before the sword would tear through his body.
'He's putting up his shield-now!'
Cloud flipped the Lohengrin, grabbing it by its blade. He swung the sword and used the crossguard to hook onto the side of the shield and once it made contact, he yanked it toward himself, which snapped out of the knight's hands. It fell on the ground near Cloud, who kicked it away with all his might. The knight finally held the greatsword with two hands.
He lifted the mighty greatsword to the sky, blotting out the moon.
'Robin, I'm borrowing your technique!'
Cloud gripped the Lohengrin with two hands once more, he brought it down to his waist, emulating the iaijutsu technique Robin had used once before.
The knight dropped his greatsword on Cloud like a guillotine.
Cloud shouted to bolster his courage as he stomped forward, then swung the Lohengrin upward.
He swung too early, and instead caught the knight between his legs and launched him to the sky. The greatsword flew right over Cloud's head, cutting the very tip of his cowlick.
He limped slowly forward as the knight flew upward, then held the Lohengrin upright, pointing it skyward. The knight landed directly on the sword; his weight as well as his downward velocity was enough to allow the Lohengrin to pierce right through the knight's stomach.
The weight was still too much for an injured Cloud, and he slammed on top of the injured Cloud, before disintegrating back into nothingness.
"Emergency treatment on Cloud! Stabilize him first, then dress his wounds!" Libra and Aerith carried an unconscious Cloud on a stretcher to the forest. They set him down on the grass and Aerith immediately began healing Cloud, focusing on the large slice in Cloud's torso. It mended quickly and the bleeding stopped, but as for any permanent nerve, organ, or even psychological damage from the lack of blood was still unknown.
"Tend to the rest of them, I'll handle Cloud!" Aerith yelled at Libra. He ran back to the pathway where the rest of the Shepherds lay.
The smell of death lingered in the woods. When the Shepherds, there was a solemn, almost deafening silence when they found Robin kneeling next to their bodies, shaking and covered in blood and soot from the point-blank explosions of anima magic.
'It was too naive have that much faith in yourself. Such arrogance caused you to believe that you could protect everyone.'
"Gods, how… how could this happen?" Chrom's face was a mixture of shock and despair.
"Five casualties… C-Chrom. I'm… I'm sorry…" Robin's breathing was ragged, and he kept his head down. He could not bring himself to look the Exalt in the eye.
Kellam
Sully
Lon'qu
Vaike
Gregor
Each of their bodies were found dead when the Shepherds arrived. Chrom did not have the strength to speak.
"Milord." Frederick swallowed. "I have just received word from Cordelia. Stahl… he… he didn't survive his injuries."
Robin broke down on his knees and could not hold back any longer. Tears streamed down his face silently.
"I will prepare the graves, Milord. Do not trouble yourself, you need to rest."
"I…" Chrom swallowed. He shook in anger, but could not maintain his rage. "...Please dismiss Cordelia and Olivia from the Shepherds… Their husbands… they… have suffered enough. Please, Frederick."
"B-but Milord, we are already shor—"
"I know!" Chrom growled. "I know we are short on manpower, but I cannot ask them to sacrifice any further! Damn the Gods! Damn them all!" Sumia threw herself around her husband.
"Chrom, please calm down!"
"I can't calm down! My order has gotten my men killed, and what do I have to show for it?! Nothing!"
Chrom flicked his head and turned to face his daughter with an exasperated expression.
"Lucina! These men-were they fated to die here!?" Lucina cradled Robin's crying head in her arms.
"…No, father. The Shepherds were destined to defeat Walhart… all alive."
"Then why… why did this happen?!"
"We're… we're deviating too far from the script. I can't read our futures anymore…" Lucina shook with fear. "That means… I can't… save… anyone…"
"They died in vain, and yet we must still choose to attack the castle or fight for our lives against the reinforcements if we stay?! I am not losing another man! This war is officially over. We are pulling out of Valm!"
No one had the strength to go on any further. As soldiers, death was something that they encountered daily. It was necessary for the war, yet they were never accustomed to death amongst themselves.
Chrom had the same such naïve and idealistic beliefs. So long as the Shepherds trained hard and fought smart under guidance of their brilliant tactician, every battle would be victorious.
"Chrom…" Robin finally spoke. "I'm sorry. I failed you as a tactician, and worse, I have failed you as a Shepherd."
"No, Robin." Chrom shook his head. "It is I who failed you. I have failed as a leader. I should have never gave my order to send in the raider squadron, you only formulated the plan." Chrom fist finally stopped shaking as he came to terms with his own failure. "The blame… the blame is mine. I am unfit to lead soldiers, much less a country. This war… this war is over, I'm sorry to you all."
War isn't a fairy tale. Not every soldier gets to go home and live the rest of their days happy with their family. The strong live and the weak die.
Such was the truth of the world.
…
"Is this how easy you all fall? You would rather walk away in a fit of indignation?"
"Cloud, you musn't walk!" Aerith screamed and tried to pull him back.
Cloud struggled to walk to his comrades and used his sword as a makeshift crutch, but he willed his legs to move anyways, dragging Aerith along with him as she tried to restrain him.
"I'm ashamed of you. Have you forgotten? Those who died... they were Shepherds. We are always prepared to die if it means making a change. I don't give a damn about fate, or destiny, or any of that nonsense anymore. If we are to die in the battle for the capital, then so be it, but if we run away, we not only insult ourselves, but the memories of our fallen."
"Cloud..."
"We cannot afford to lose this war. We've already sacrificed too much now."
"…"
"I'm asking you this, not as a friend, not as a comrade, not even as a Shepherd, but from one man to another. I'm asking you to finish what we started so that they may rest in peace." Aerith was taken aback. She had never seen Cloud as he was now. That stoic soldier she had met three years ago led a solemn but burning passion in his soul.
"Y-You're right, Cloud. Now isn't the time for the regrets. There is no room for failure, we are taking that castle and ending this war." Chrom extended his arm to Robin. Robin brought his eyes up to meet Chrom's.
Chrom's eyes were seemingly reborn, full of determination and clear of any anger and regret. Robin had no right to take the hand of this man.
"…I'm no use to you anymore, Chrom." Robin mumbled.
"C'mon Robin, let's see some of that fighting spirit! It's unbecoming of you to be a coward in front of your future wife!" Robin's eyes perked upward in interest.
"…What?"
"You have my blessing, Robin. If you're going to marry my daughter, I'll accept you whole-heartedly… You needn't fear the horrors of the future, I will walk it by your side." Robin shook his head and sighed.
"Robin, we made you our tactician because we have faith in you. We're always prepared to fulfill your commands to the best of our abilities. Keep on fighting, Robin!" Sumia cheered.
"What do you say, Robin?" Cloud finally asked. He shook his head, chuckling silently to himself. His friends were certainly one-of-a-kind.
"…Alright. Let's end this war then." Robin finally took his hand.
"My friends, I know this is a hard time for all of us, but in spite of these unfortunate events, we must still persevere. I am retracting my order to retreat, and we will proceed with our plan to attack the Valmese capital. However… should any of you want to walk away from this war, you are free to do so, no questions asked." Chrom announced. Robin noticed the uncomfortable look on Severa's face.
'She was Stahl's daughter…' Robin remembered. 'It would be too cruel to ask her to continue fighting.'
"Captain, if I may?" Flavia raised her hand.
"Yes, Flavia?"
"With all due respect, how dare you?!
"…?! I'm sorry… I did not mean—" Chrom tried to apologize.
"How dare you have such little faith in us? I'm sure I speak for all of us Shepherds when I say that we are not walking away from this last battle. We're all going to see this through, together."
"That… That is what Lon'qu would have wanted." Olivia added in with tears streaming down her face.
"I-I'm not backing down either. My father would never run from a fight, so neither will I!" shouted Severa. Her mother Cordelia, although silent from her mourning, held a fist up in determination too.
The Shepherds, although disheartened from their comrade's untimely deaths, still cheered on.
"Haven't I told you? I'm coming for that bastard Walhart's head… to avenge Basilio. I promised myself, and I'm not backing down from that just because of a little rain."
Chrom chuckled at this unexpected turn of events. "…You humble me, everyone. I thank you, all of you, for your undying devotion. And I must thank you, Cloud, formally. You were... quite blunt, I'll admit, but that was definitely the wake-up call that I needed. After all these years… no wonder Emm had nothing but blind faith in you."
"Don't mention it."
"Now then, the Valmese are quick on our tail, and we have no more time to waste. We're bringing the fight to them!"