Chapter 20: The Conqueror vs. The King
In the opening scene, the Typhoon pulls into a port town. The town is very bright and cheerful looking with white buildings and people going about their daily business, despite the oncoming war.
As the Typhoon docks and a member of Jack's crew drops anchor, other members set up the bridge for everyone to disembark the ship on. Chrom and his forces leave the ship as they ready themselves to enter the town, followed by Jack, along with Tyrell, Trip, Ryu, Iris and Sky.
Approaching Jack is an old man dressed like a sailor with a bushy, white beard and mustache, and walking in a slightly crooked fashion.
"Hey there, Jack." says the old sailor in a crusty sounding voice. "Seems you've been busy here, like always, you ol' sea-dog."
"Good to see you, too, Gus." says Jack. "Just bringing a few people crazy enough to try and take down Hugo."
"Pretty brave to say such a thing." says Gus. "Best be careful. Certain ears may be listening in a lot closer than you think."
"Well, I could make up a lie in saying that I brought sightseers." says Jack. "But, you would already figure that to be a load, wouldn't you?"
Gus just gives a crusty laugh and says, "Too true. But listen, you should already know I've longed to see the day when Hugo falls from power, and though I think anyone would be crazy to try and take him down head on, I see you brought some individuals I feel will do just that."
"Yes, but we know you still desire payment for a docking fee AND to keep your mouth shut." says Jack as he hands Gus a sack of gold.
Gus then says, "Will do, Jack. Tell the others Gus says welcome to Serris... and that if they intend to stop Hugo, make sure he doesn't fall, but crashes instead."
"I'll see to it." says Jack. "Take care, Gus."
And with that, Jack and his mates leave their ship for Gus to take care of.
"And when I say to make Hugo crash, I mean it." says Gus quietly. "That dastard needs to be brought down. Good luck to all of ya'."
Just then, we get a shot of an S on the sailor's cap Gus is wearing after he tips the outer hat he's wearing to reveal it.
As Chrom and his forces enter the town, Nemo says with a small smile, "You know, while we're to head to battle against Hugo very soon, it still feels good to be back home."
"It sure does." says Camille, and Ziggy adds in. "And hopefully, we'll bring Hugo down, followed by giving this nation a long and deserved peace."
"Let's hope we can do it." says Nemo with a serious look.
After that, Chrom says, "All right, we made it this far. I suppose now, we get our supplies while not drawing a lot of attention to ourselves."
"Right." says Momo. "And, if possible, we hurry as soon as we can. While I figure Hugo won't directly try to attack us in town, he probably does have scouts located all around this place. And the longer we stay here..."
"The sooner Hugo will know of our counter-invasion and presence." says Flavia. "I couldn't agree anymore."
"Then let's buy supplies and head out of here." says Chrom. "Ryu, which way to Momo's lands? You told us how far it is, but can you give us directions?"
"Better." says Ryu. "I can lead you all there. It'll be quickest if you all follow my lead."
"That'll be fine." says Momo. "The quickest way there will be very helpful to us."
"Anything for you, Kurosaki-sama." says Ryu with a bow.
"That kind of sucks we can't stay here long." says Pit. "This town looks perfect to start a tour of this nation in."
"I know, Pit." says Chrom. "But we have to keep to our business, and not give Hugo the upper-hand."
Pit sighs, then says, "I know, Exalt Chrom. And believe me, I'll be twice as dedicated to try and bring down Hugo with you guys."
Chrom smiles and says, "We know, Pit. And we're counting on you."
As soon as that scene ends, we're taken to Jennifer's camp where an Assassin approaches Jennifer, who says to the Assassin, "So... any news?"
"Yes, and good news at that, your majesty." says the Assassin. "Our spies in the port town of Leadra have made contact with King Nemo and his army. They arrived here with the aid of the honorable pirate, Jack Tyson."
"Tyson, huh?" asks Jennifer. "Well, that's good to hear. If Jack joins with him, that could doubly good. Do you know where they are headed?"
"Yes. I heard that they are going to the lands of Kurosaki." says the Assassin.
"Really? But why there?" asks Jennifer before shaking her head. "Nevermind. We shall march there immediately. I will let everyone know."
"Of course." says the Assassin.
Just then, a Bow Knight comes in and dismounts his horse to approach Jennifer, who asks, "What is it, soldier? You seem to be in a bit of a hurry to get back here."
"A situation has arisen, your majesty!" says the Bow Knight. "A mighty warrior in red armor appeared, riding a strong-looking horse and wielding a massive axe! He is doing battle with the national army of Serris!"
"A mighty warrior in red armor... oh gods, it couldn't be!" says Jennifer in surprise. "The Conqueror is here? In Serris?"
"And what's more..." continues the Bow Knight. "...he's taking them all on by himself!"
"Yes, the Conqueror would do that." says Jennifer. "But still, I imagine they will summon Hugo to take care of the situation, and if they do... then it would be all over for Conqueror Walhart."
"So, what do we do?" asks the Bow Knight.
Jennifer thinks and says, "We need to hurry and get to Nemo as soon as possible. But, at the same time, I can't leave someone who would willingly throw himself into the fray just to take down Hugo to die. Damn, this really is a tight situation."
"Your majesty?" asks the Assassin.
Jennifer grunts, then she says, "Very well... we'll go and assist Conqueror Walhart! It'll be risky to sidetrack from our original purpose, but... I can't leave someone like that to die without it affecting my conscience."
"I understand, your majesty." says the Assassin. "Let us go at once!"
"Yes, let's!" says Jennifer. "The longer we take, the sooner Walhart will be killed by Hugo!"
As that scene ends, we're taken to a battlefield where several soldiers are running, though from the expression of fear on their faces, it appears that they're running from something or someone as opposed to towards them.
We get a shot of a mighty, red axe being swung, and in the next shot, a few soldiers are sent flying. Another shot of the axe being swung is shown, followed by more soldiers being sent sailing through the air. Axe is swung, and more soldiers are sent flying. Again. And again. And again.
"Retreat!" shouts a Serrisian soldier. "Retreat!"
"He's gonna' kill us!" shouts another soldier. "The Conqueror is gonna' kill us!"
We get a shot of white horse legs moving, then a flash of red armor, followed by more Serrisian soldiers fleeing for their lives.
"Retreat!" shouts a soldier. "Fall back!"
A soldier trips and falls. As he gets back up and looks behind him, he puts on an expression of mortal fear as he shouts, "Stay away from me! AAAGGHHHH!"
We get shot of Walhart running towards us and swings his axe as he gets very close.
After seeing a group of soldiers running for their lives, we see the battlefield is littered with bodies upon bodies upon bodies of dead Serrisian soldiers, followed by a shot of the back of Walhart's head.
Getting another shot of the bodies on the battlefield, we hear Walhart say, "Pathetic. And I needed the help of both Yen'fay and Priam for THIS? These so-called warriors are so weak and frail. The all fold faster than a card table."
After getting a shot of Walhart bucking his horse up and holding his axe to the sky, he shouts, "I want REAL warriors to fight! The Conqueror demands a TRUE challenge!"
After getting a close-up of Walhart's disappointed face, we then hear the voice of Hugo say, "If you demand a challenge, I'll be more than happy to provide you!"
Walhart looks ahead of him to see Hugo and Zellor, along with a group of soldiers wearing strong and more extravagant-looking armor appear. Standing next to Zellor is a woman dressed as a Great Knight in red-orange armor. Her golden-blonde hair is short, but styled in a way that is both feminine and commanding. And her face, while lovely, appears to have a strong expression.
"I take it that you are King Hugo, correct?" Walhart asks. "The man that dares to think he can steal my title away from me?"
As Hugo and his forces come to a stop, Hugo says, "That would be me, Conqueror Walhart."
Walhart smiles and says, "At last! I can finally bring justice upon those that think they can take a title that is rightfully mine!"
"Not for much longer, I'm afraid." says Hugo. "At this point, Walhart, you don't deserve to be called Conqueror anymore. At least, not in my eyes."
"Then let me open your eyes for you." says Walhart with his smile disappearing. "You have not lived long enough to know the path of a conqueror. I chose and fought to earn that title on my own accord, and I have earned the right to keep it for many long years. I chose to rail against the gods who would have us pray to them for many years only to not receive anything at all for our sacrifices. I chose to fight and win to show humans who the REAL gods of this world are. You, however, are just a child who wants revenge for his father's death, despite not having any proof that the nation he wants to invade really did it! You, King Hugo, disgust me!"
"Is that the best insult you've got, Walhart?" asks Hugo. "At least I never got defeated by a weakling prince and ended up following him like another soldier. To go from a mighty Emperor to another person to be told what to do by a tactician that became the queen of the prince turned exalt. You're pathetic, Not-Really-A-Conqueror Walhart."
"I follow those that are strong and can rise to the challenge to truly best me like a real warrior would!" shouts Walhart. "That weakling prince and his tactician wife I lost to have MORE strength than you could even begin to imagine! YOU are the one who is weak, Hugo!"
"Weak, am I?" asks Hugo calmly and seemingly unfazed by Walhart's insults. "Very well, then. Let us prove it in battle. I won't even need to wield Skuld to take care of you. But, I'll let you wield a weapon just to give you a fair advantage."
"You would DARE give the Conqueror a handicap?" Walhart says getting angry. "You will do no such thing! If you choose to fight without a weapon, the Conqueror will do the same!"
As he says that, Walhart throws his axe to the ground, and dismounts his horse.
Hugo snorts with a smug smile and says, "Careful, Conqueror. That pride of yours could get the best of you."
As Walhart begins to walk towards him, Hugo says, "Zellor? Wren? Stay back. I'll take care of this. This will be very quick, I assure you both."
Both Zellor and the female Great Knight bow as Zellor says, "Very well, your majesty."
"We shall do as you command." the female Great Knight, obviously answering to the name of Wren follows up with.
Hugo then walks forward to meet with Walhart.
Just then, from far behind Walhart, we see Priam and Yen'fay arrive.
"Finally, we caught up." says Priam. "Damn that Walhart and his impatience."
"Speaking of Walhart..." says Yen'fay. "...what's he doing?"
"Looks like he's approaching that man without a weapon." says Priam. "He means to go it true hand-to-hand with him."
"Fie! If I didn't know any better, that man is King Hugo!" says Yen'fay with worry. "He seriously isn't going to go without his axe, is he?"
"I think so." says Priam. "And my warrior instincts say this is going to get messy."
Just then, an Anna runs up next to Priam and Yen'fay, and says as she looks pooped, "Geez, can you men give a poor, little merchant a break? How much stamina do you all have?" Just then, as she gets done looking tired, the Anna asks, "Hey, what is Walhart doing?"
"Signing his death warrant, I'm afraid." says Priam simply.
As we get back to the moment with Walhart and Hugo, the two men come near each other, and have a small stare-down before Walhart says, "You made a grave mistake to try and take my title, Hugo. And now, you're about to make a bigger mistake of trying to take on the Conqueror himself."
"Well, if you're that confident..." Hugo starts to say. "...I will give you the first shot."
Growling, Walhart rears back his left arm and then punches the side of Hugo's face with tremendous force. Priam, Yen'fay and the Anna seem stunned while Zellor and Wren remain expressionless.
Though his face reacted to the punch, Hugo doesn't look to be in pain as he just smiles and asks Walhart, who's face looks to be cringing, "So, tell me, Conqueror Walhart... just how many fingers did you break? Three or four?"
After a while, Walhart pulls his hand back and backs off from Hugo as he holds his left hand in pain. Hugo, however, looking just fine, looks at Walhart with a devious smile.
"This is..." says Yen'fay. "... going to get bad."
"Now, it's my turn." says Hugo.
Before Walhart can properly react, Hugo jumps at him with a flying kick, which hits Walhart in his chest and sends him flying away. He crashes onto his back, and yells in pain
Anna gasps while both Priam and Yen'fay grit their teeth, but both Zellor and Wren continue to remain blank-faced.
Hugo slowly walks to Walhart, who starts to get up, albeit painfully. After that, Walhart throws a punch when Hugo gets to him, only to have Hugo grab his right fist with his left hand. Walhart tries to pull his fist away, but Hugo not only doesn't let go, but starts to squeeze Walhart's hand, forcing him to his knees as he yells in pain.
As Priam, Yen'fay and the Anna continue to watch in fear, Hugo lets go of Walhart's hand, which Walhart starts to hold up in pain. Then, when he looks at him, Hugo roundhouse kicks Walhart in the side of his face, his heel smashing into Walhart's cheek-bone, causing saliva to fly out of his mouth.
After Walhart falls onto his back again, he starts to get up to face Hugo again, only to be slapped in the face by him, followed by a back-slap in quick succession. As he growls at Hugo, Walhart gets uppercutted in the chin by Hugo, the punch causing his teeth to clack. Priam and Yen'fay can only watch in horror while the Anna covers her eyes.
After Walhart crashes onto his back, looking bloodied and bruised by Hugo's few attacks, Hugo picks up Walhart by his breastplate and off the ground, then says to him, "You see, Walhart? You're leagues behind me when it comes to REAL power. I've been through unimaginable hell to get the body I have while you merely bring hell upon others. In the end, which one of us is really weak?"
Just then, Priam, Yen'fay and the Anna arrive with their weapons drawn, ready to attack Hugo. Hugo just looks at them with a cocky smile, then says, "I suppose you want him back. Then... here."
Hugo effortlessly throws Walhart to them, and the three sheathe their weapons to tend to the injured Conqueror.
"I've had enough fun here." says Hugo. "Let's go."
And with that, Hugo and his forces walk off.
"Well, at least Walhart is breathing." says Priam. "That's a good sign."
"Still, what power that man has." says Yen'fay. "He's not human, he's a monster."
Just then, hearing the sounds of people coming towards them, Priam, Yen'fay and the Anna look to see Jennifer and her force running towards them.
Jennifer and her soldiers come to a stop, and she asks the three, "Is he alive?"
"Yes." says Yen'fay after a brief pause. "But who are you?"
"I'm Jennifer, Princess of Serris." says Jennifer.
"Hugo's sister?" asks Priam.
"That's right." says Jennifer. "But I'm not your enemy. But let's not worry about that for now. Let's just try and get him treated. We'll take him to my brother, Nemo. I know where he and the others are."
Though not wanting to trust her, the three of them nod to her, and she says with a smile, "Thank you."
After that, the others gather around to tend to Walhart as the scene ends.
To Be Continued in Chapter 21