Time for the big battle! Expect it to be bloody.

Chapter 115 – The Battle of Garreg Mach, Part 1 (Lone Moon)

The soldiers of the Empire cheered as Edelgard marched through the center of town, dressed in the armor of the Flame Emperor. She had no need for the helmet, and Hubert had even suggested she wear a different set, but she had refused to choose something else for now.

She looked around at the many faces around her, men and women who were ready for war and sure to perish in droves. War was never without cost, she told herself. But even if they died, their sacrifice would be for the greater good.

She turned and said, "Hubert, is everything ready?"

"The siege weapons are ready," Hubert answered. "Our forces are in position. They await only your command."

One of the Hoshidans turned to Edelgard and said, "Qǐng xià mìnglìng."

Understanding the gesture, albeit not the words, Edelgard said to the engineer, "Very well."

Edelgard stopped in front of her soldiers, turned with Aymr in hand, and began her speech.

"Warriors of the Adrestian Empire! No army has dared to lay siege to Garreg Mach Monastery or to the Knights of Seiros in all of Fódlan's recorded history. Today, we write a new chapter in that history. We will break down the walls of the Church, behind which our enemy cowers in fear of our might! We will destroy the Knights of Seiros, who in their pride and greed have oppressed and enslaved Fódlan to the Church's whims! The flag of the Adrestian Empire will fly over Garreg Mach before this day is done!"

The soldiers began to cheer and cry for battle. They began to chant Edelgard's name as she raised Aymr over her head.

"Using these weapons of war, we shall blast the enemy from afar and force them to meet us on the field of battle! When they emerge, show them no mercy, for you shall be shown none in turn!"

The roar of the soldiers was deafening, yet Edelgard could still make out the foreign words of the Hoshidan engineers as they readied their trebuchets to fire.

She gave a single, loud command.

"FIRE!"

She heard one of the Hoshidans shout, "Gōngjí!"

The massive trebuchets began to swing, lobbing massive boulders into the air toward the monastery. Even Edelgard was impressed as the central weapon's boulder smashed into a tower and blew a huge hole in its side.

"ADVANCE!" she shouted.

At her command, the soldiers of the Empire began to march upon the walls of Garreg Mach.

…

Byleth continued to shout out orders as she watched the Empire begin their advance. Men and women screamed as volleys of rocks began to pelt them, while others shouted as they readied the monastery's own artillery to fire at the approaching troops.

Behind her, Dorothea channeled her magic to heal those she could, wincing as the woman before her screamed at the top of her lungs. Her arm had been broken, twisted at an unnatural angle.

As two other soldiers arrived to carry away their comrade, Dorothea turned to look at the approaching army with tears in her eyes.

She had heard Edelgard's voice, however distant it was, and the sound of it had almost shattered what little resolve the diva could summon.

…

Hubert remained at the rear of his advance on the Empire's left flank. He was not content to wait for the Hoshidans to land a lucky hit on the western gate. Despite the range of the trebuchets, their accuracy was left wanting.

His troops were wheeling forward a covered wagon filled with barrels of blasting powder, ready to blow a hole in the enemy's defenses. The wagon was surrounded by metal plates, causing arrows to bounce off harmlessly. Occasionally one of the soldiers would be hit by an arrow and fall to the ground, either screaming or dead, only to be replaced by another.

Hubert knew the Knights of Seiros couldn't win. He recalled a lesson on tactics that taking a heavily fortified position generally required twice as many attackers as defenders. According to reports from the Empire's scouts, the Knights had probably around 1,500 troops behind the walls.

The Empire had well over 3,000 men and women now advancing toward the monastery, with more in reserve.

"Lord Vestra, we're nearly at the wall!" shouted one of Hubert's officers.

"Excellent," Hubert replied. He then turned to a nearby abandoned guard tower and said, "Set up a command post there. Once we have breached the wall, we'll use it as–"

Hubert stopped as he heard the western gate beginning to open. Surprised, he turned to watch it slowly swing open. A second later, cries of battle rang out as a force of approximately 200 cavalrymen charged out of the monastery and rushed toward his forces.

"Defensive positions! Shield wall!" Hubert shouted. "Kill those Church fools!"

But the soldiers of Hubert's vanguard were not quick enough to establish their shield wall. He watched as the vanguard's defensive line shattered immediately and his troops began to flee for their lives, only to be cut down by the Church's cavaliers and paladins. As he scowled, he saw several familiar faces among the ranks of the Knights' cavalry.

Ferdinand, seeing Hubert at the back of his column, raised his lance and shouted, "Forward! Make them tremble!"

Leonie raised her bow and fired a quick shot as Lorenz and Sylvain continued to stab and slash away at the Empire's troops. The rest of the cavalry under their command continued their charge toward Hubert's main line, which had reorganized and now formed an impressive shield wall of at least 200 infantrymen.

Hubert, believing the enemy's charge was now suicidal, smirked at their bravado.

But the cavalry did not stop their charge, and as they approached, the Imperial infantry began to lose its nerve at seeing so many well-armed and armored horsemen barreling down upon them. Even as the Empire's archers and mages shot down several cavaliers as they charged, they did not show fear.

Hubert's smirk vanished as he saw his shield wall falter, the troops stricken by panic.

"STAND YOUR GROUND!" he shouted as he readied his magic and unleashed a Banshee Θ spell at the approaching cavaliers, hitting three of them and sending them crashing to the ground.

His mages followed suit with fireballs and bolts of lightning, but it was too late. The cavalry plowed into the faltering shield wall, crushing Imperial troops and cutting down those who tried to fight or flee.

Hubert hissed as he realized his error. Unlike the enemy, much of the Empire's infantry in this battle was made of untested troops who had not seen a real battle. Even outnumbered, courage was something the enemy had in abundance. He realized he would have to do something to turn the tables.

He signaled for his mages to channel their power to him. Mana flowed through him as the mages boosted his magic, causing dark energy to crackle around him.

Seeing this, Lorenz shouted for the cavalrymen to stop Hubert before he could finish his spell. But it was already too late.

"YOU WILL KNEEL!" Hubert shouted as he unleashed a Dark Spikes T spell at the enemy.

A huge wave of dark magical spears rained down toward the cavalry, piercing away at the legs of the horses. Any who did not avoid the spell were brought to the ground as their horses collapsed with whinnies of agony. Ferdinand, who was caught in the spell, howled as he was brought down and had his shoulder pierced by one of the dark magical lances.

Hubert began to laugh maniacally as his spell tore apart the ranks of the Church's cavalry. But as he did, an arrow flew above the heads of the crowd and pierced into his right arm. Hubert growled in pain as he lost control of his spell, ending it prematurely to prevent a backlash. He glared at Leonie, knowing she had been the one to fire the shot.

As the magic of Hubert's spell faded, the panicking Imperial soldiers saw the devastation that their leader had wrought. The sight renewed their courage, and they cried out as they rushed to kill the cavalrymen before they could recover. The cavaliers drew their blades and readied their lances, but with such a disparity of numbers, they were quickly overwhelmed by the Imperials.

Sylvain, still on his horse, rode over to Ferdinand and slashed an Imperial axe fighter before helping the wounded noble onto his steed. Lorenz then shouted for the cavalry to retreat.

The cavalry fled back toward the monastery walls as Hubert grimaced painfully. He knew he would have to withdraw for now, but victory was still assured.

…

Church soldiers screamed and fled in terror from the Death Knight as his scythe slashed through soldier after soldier. The carnage was intoxicating for him. He had not known such wanton slaughter, and he craved more of it with every second that passed.

As he beheaded a female Church archer, he heard a loud impact and the sound of metal being ripped from its place on Garreg Mach's wall. He turned to see one of the trebuchets had scored a direct hit on the eastern gate, breaking off one of the doors.

He swung his scythe toward the gate and shouted, "FORWARD! KILL THEM ALL!"

The Death Knight and his black riders reformed their ranks and charged forward as the Church's soldiers began to flee for their lives. The Death Knight's cavalry was relentless, either trampling the enemy or slicing them apart. By the time the Death Knight reached the gate, there were hundreds of dead Imperial and Church troops in his wake.

As his mount galloped past the broken gate, the Death Knight saw the Church soldiers attempting to form a shield wall. Not stopping his advanced, he raised the Scythe of Sariel, channeling dark power into the weapon before releasing a crescent wave of energy at the soldiers. The wave sliced through their shields and armor like paper, breaking the shield wall and allowing him to charge right past them. Seconds later, his black riders began to cut down the remnants of the shield wall, even as archers on the wall began to shoot down at the cavalry.

The Death Knight briefly looked back at the carnage and then, sensing danger, turned to see a young white-haired girl with pink eyes, holding a glowing red staff. It was the Heroes' Relic Thyrsus, the relic of House Gloucester. She was surrounded by ten more Church soldiers, and beside her was a familiar blonde healer, ready to cast a ward spell. A pink-haired girl with an axe also stood alongside them.

Stopping briefly, the Death Knight said to Lysithea, "Flee while you can, child."

"I was about to say the same to you, Death Knight," Lysithea replied.

"How arrogant of you." Then, turning to Mercedes, the Death Knight said, "You should not be here. Leave. This is not the place of your death."

"I won't run away from you, Death Knight!" Mercedes protested. "I have to protect my friends!"

"You're not taking one more step forward, Death Knight!" shouted Hilda as she readied her axe.

The Death Knight said nothing to this as his bloodlust overtook him again. He reared back his horse and renewed his charge, channeling energy again into the Scythe of Sariel. Seeing this, Mercedes immediately began to channel her ward, creating a wall of magic in front of the soldiers protecting her, Hilda and Lysithea.

The Scythe of Sariel released its dark wave again, and Mercedes yelped as her ward was shattered in an instant, continuing onward to cut down six soldiers beyond it. The Death Knight rushed in, slashing through three more soldiers and then beheading the last.

Grimacing at such slaughter, Lysithea finished readying her Dark Spikes T spell as she shouted, "You will regret this!"

Dark lances of magic rained down on the Death Knight, prompting him to swing the Scythe of Sariel to deflect the attack. But it came from all sides, and soon the Death Knight was howling as his steed toppled over, sending him to the ground.

The Death Knight's helmet rolled across the ground as its wearer pushed himself up and glared at Lysithea.

"So, it is you, Professor Jeritza," said Lysithea as she saw the blonde man's face.

Jeritza said nothing as he rose to his feet, his horse struggling in pain to get back up. Though injured, the steed was far from finished, as was its rider.

At the sight of his face, now without the white mask that Jeritza had worn before his disappearance from the monastery, Mercedes let out a loud gasp of shock.

"E-Emile…?!"

Surprised, Hilda and Lysithea turned to see Mercedes was trembling, her hands to her mouth in horror.

"Emile…? Is that you, my baby brother…?" Mercedes whimpered.

"Wait, WHAT?! Professor Jeritza is YOUR BROTHER?!" Hilda said in shock.

"Mercedes…" Jeritza said coldly.

With another whimper, Mercedes said, "It can't… can't… nhh…"

Hilda yelped as Mercedes fainted into her arms.

"Mercedes, get a grip!" Hilda shouted.

Jeritza tightened his grip on the Scythe of Sariel and swung it in Lysithea's direction, sending a crackling blast of crimson energy at her. Shocked, Lysithea tried to raise a ward, but shrieked as the blast hit her and sent agonizing pain through her body. The white-haired mage fell to her knees and trembled in pain, saved only by the protective enchantment of Thyrsus.

"Lysithea!" Hilda shrieked.

Jeritza then charged at Hilda, who still had Mercedes in her arms. The pinkette's face lit up with alarm.

At that moment, Jeritza dodged back as Thunderbrand nearly took off his head.

"That's far enough, Jeritza," said Catherine as she readied her stance. Without turning to her, she then said, "Hilda, Lysithea, get out of here!"

Nodding, Hilda lifted Mercedes onto her shoulder as Lysithea limped away from the fight. As they withdrew, Catherine watched Jeritza as he walked back over to his helmet and put it back on his head.

"I've wanted this for a long time, Thunderstrike Cassandra," said the Death Knight.

"I'll bet you have…"

The two began their clash as the battle continued raging around them.

…

Dimitri was furious. No matter how many Imperials he killed, it wasn't drawing Edelgard out. Where was she?! He had heard her shouting from town just before the Empire began its attack, so why hadn't she come out to face him? Was she afraid of him? Yes, that had to be it. She was terrified that he was going to kill her, no matter how many soldiers she sent to stop him.

The prince roared as his lance slashed through the neck of another Imperial soldier. All around him, Church and Imperial troops were fighting in close quarters, with arrows occasionally raining in. It was absolute chaos.

Dimitri ignored Byleth's voice as the teacher ordered him to fall back. Why couldn't she understand that he couldn't retreat? He couldn't let his family or friends go unavenged! They demanded Edelgard's head! Even with the noises of battle around him, he could hear them as clear as day, crying out for vengeance.

Another Imperial axe fighter tried to slam his weapon into Dimitri, who parried the blow before whirling around and smashing his lance's shaft into his head. As the soldier lay on his back, he felt Dimitri step onto his chest, and then cried out in futile protest before Dimitri stomped on his head, smashing the poor soldier's skull in a spray of blood and gray matter.

With a furious shout, Dimitri shouted, "WHERE ARE YOU, EDELGARD?! SHOW YOURSELF! OR ARE YOU GOING TO LET ALL THESE FOOLS DIE IN YOUR STEAD?!"

"You dastard! You'll not approach our Emperor!" shouted a man's voice, prompting Dimitri to turn.

The man was dressed in red officer's armor and had lilac-colored eyes with sandy blonde hair. He carried a silver axe in his hands.

"Are you planning to die for her too?" Dimitri scowled at Randolph.

"Far from it," said Randolph von Bergliez. "Defeating you will earn me recognition as a hero of the Empire!"

Dimitri had to laugh at this. "The only recognition you'll get is as another bloody smear on my boot."

Randolph was infuriated by this insult and roared as he swung his axe at Dimitri. Dimitri avoided the blow and countered, but Randolph was more skilled than he expected and blocked the counterattack. The two clashed for several seconds, but then Dimitri tapped into the Minor Crest of Blaiddyd as he made another swing with his lance. The blow sent Randolph careening back into a broken piece of the monastery's wall. He fell to his hands and knees as he gasped for breath.

"Y-You monster… This isn't over…!" Randolph gasped.

Then, knowing he was outmatched, Randolph turned and ran.

"COWARD! Get back here!" Dimitri howled as he gave chase to Randolph.

At that moment, Dedue shouted, "Your Highness, watch out!"

Dimitri turned as a solitary arrow flew toward him, and the prince let out an earsplitting scream of agony as the arrow struck him in his right eye.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Dedue shouted as Dimitri fell to the ground, the arrow still sticking out of his eye as he blacked out.

Gruesome. Don't worry, he's not dead, but he had to lose that eye somehow.

At last, Lysithea gets to tackle the Death Knight! Too bad he tanked that Dark Spikes like a boss. Hubert did it better, and without a Heroes' Relic, even if he had help. Maybe Jeritza remembered to take Cavalry Effect Null this time around.

Relating to the Death Knight, I added that little reveal because it's never been specified just how Mercedes learns that he's Jeritza a.k.a. Emile. This felt like a good moment for it. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll have time to show the results of his duel with Catherine. Got a lot of ground to cover with this battle.

Finally, I have it such that the Hoshidans speak Chinese rather than Japanese because I've reserved that for the Nabateans/Manaketes. Chinese is a suitable substitute, IMO. I cannot understand Chinese, so I'm largely taking what I can from online translations. Feel free to correct me if I make mistakes.

Next episode is going to take to the air, as well as underground. Stay tuned!