-Wolf vs Lion-

"They're approaching."

"I can see that." Robin said.

"HEY! ONE-EYED FREAK!" The howl came across the battlefield. Robin rolled his one eye as the Feroxi giant kept yelling at him, telling him to surrender first, and then they could talk. Robin suspected that part of it was bluster, considering that the other Khan, Flavia was actually in charge. He had the sneaking suspicion Basilio would be willing to negotiate if he was in charge. Alas, he wasn't. So all Basilio could do was make threats. "I'M TALKING TO YOU! DO YOU THINK YOU'VE GOT THE STONES TO TAKE THIS COUNTRY'S TOUGHEST?"

"Those are some seriously impressive lungs if he can yell at you across an entire battlefield." Ravena noted. "Think he's interested in talking to you?"

"Interested in exchanging insults, most likely. Let him waste his breath." Robin gestured. "Brace the frontlines. Get ready to take their army head on. Remember, our goal is just to hold the ground for now."

"I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU, BATTLEMASTER!"

Robin shook his head. His preparations were done, and the sun was about to rise on the first day of battle. Both armies were ready for the confrontation. Robin himself stood out on the mages' blasting platforms, walking amongst the troops as the Plegian sorcerers prepared to cast siege tomes. The land they'd chosen was south of the Longfort but was situated with mountains to the left and right, forcing the armies to confront each other head on. The limited terrain for maneuverability meant that his tactical options was limited, but Robin was counting on winning through strategic means.

He wouldn't fight that day, instead, he'd give orders. They needed a keen tactical mind for the first fight, one against an opponent they didn't know much about. After the first day, Robin would go over the strategies he felt important with his generals and take the battlefield on the second day, alongside his squad. They wouldn't attack, they'd be a reserve team, in case the Feroxi broke through the lines, ready to push them back.

And the third day would be when all hell broke loose. But that wouldn't be for a while. And until that did happen, Valm would need to hold their line.

-Day Two-

A row of Valmese soldiers burst open as the Feroxi warriors crashed through them, axes a-whirling. The Feroxi hadn't opted for strategy in the fight. The disadvantage to that approach meant that they took heavy losses to Valm's orderly rows and ranks, their ballistae and mages, and to their meticulously calculated formations. On the first day, the Feroxi made no progress.

But with a new day came new determination. The advantage of Feroxi playing to their strengths meant that the Feroxi played to their strengths – raw power and determination. They hit even harder the second day. A normal army would be demoralized from being stalled. But the Feroxi just got back up and hit even harder.

"Die, enemies of Regna Ferox!" A woman in dull green armor lead the charge. "For the East Khan!"

The Feroxi poured through the broken lines. Reinforcements came to help, only for the spot beyond the gap to turn into an all-out brawl between hundreds of fighters, while the Valm desperately tried to hold the line nearby where it hadn't broken. Up and down the line, embolden by the success of their brethren, the Feroxi hit the lines harder.

"Reinforce."

The order was given up and down the line. A second wave of Valm soldier prepared to charge in, relieving those who had previously held the line. But if Valm couldn't hold, they risk getting routed. But they would hold. And the hold the line, they needed to wipe out those who had breached it.

"The knight's mine." Dant spun her knives. "I've been itching to cross blades with a good Feroxi, and Raimi the Verdant Shield will have to do for now."

"Fine with me." Zulas said. "I'll take up a spot in the shieldwall, if the rest of you could get me close enough."

"Leave the healing to me." Argeni declared.

"-and I'll blow us open a path!" Vermil already had the magic at the ready.

"…Uh, so I'll keep watch then and support where we'll need it?" Ravena offered. "Guess that I'll I'm left with right now. But don't think I'll slack, even for a moment!"

"All right, all right. Let's cut the chatter, all of you." Robin chuckled as he stepped out onto the battlefield alongside with his squadron. He carried his spear loosely in one hand as Zulas, Dant, Ravena, Vermil, and Argeni fanned out behind him, readying their weapons of choice. "I know it's been a while since we've done this, but I think we're as combat ready as we've ever been."

"Your orders, Battlemaster?" Zulas asked.

"Crimson Squad – take them down. Show them the power of Valm. Let's deliver an unmistakable message." Robin thrust his arm forward. The first Feroxi to fall had no idea what hit him. Dant, fastest of them, danced past him, and the man collapsed, his throat slashed. Robin had the next kill, avoiding the axe of the Feroxi who noticed him and running through him with his spear. Then he focused his powers and ran lightning through it, electrocuting the man on the spear.

"The Battlemaster!" The cry went up from the Valmese soldiers, and a resulting howl went up from the Feroxi.

"Push them back!" Robin said. He was about to say more when every single Feroxi turned to face him.

Regna Ferox is a warrior culture which values the experience of strong fight. Thus, when presented with a strong opponent, their first reaction is not to panic and run away to safety but instead to charge the threat head on. Robin thought. Translation: I'm the main target.

Excellent.

Robin lit up with purple flames and whirled his spear around him in a sphere of death and charged. The Feroxi couldn't overwhelm him, not with the Valmese in the area giving them a good fight, but Robin never lacked for an opponent. And that was something he took advantage of.

His spear spun, decapitating a berserker. Robin ducked an axe swing and blasted off a wide spread blast of lightning magic. Then, with dexterous and lightning-fast hand motions, the spear moved seemingly of its own accord and slashed all those nearby. Feroxi dropped around him as corpses amidst sprays of blood. More rushed up to take their spots, as a wave of fireballs impacted around them.

Vermil was standing nearby, holding a tome in one hand, and several rings of runes and symbols floating around him. His other hand was outstretched, and Vermil's eyes narrowed in concentration as fireballs rained from his hand, creating gaps in the Feroxi fighters. His attacks didn't kill them, but they were almost as good, blinding or disorienting them. Even as he stood there, firing, a Feroxi came up in his blind spot, only to be knocked aside by a blast of wind.

Vermil looked back as Ravena took a spot behind him to guard his blind spot, twirling her spear in imitation of Robin's own style. Vermil smiled and nodded to her, then turned his attention back on the field. Ravena turned to the Feroxi warrior she knocked aside, taunting him. "Sneaking up on an opponent? I thought your kind was about honor."

"Battlefield is a dangerous place, little girl." The Feroxi turned to her. "If you aren't paying attention, you're liable to die."

Ravena blasted him with a lance of dark magic and watched him drop. "Yeah, but I think the same can be said of underestimating your opponents." Ravena planted her spear and conjured twin dark orbs, blasting Fluxs from her hands, raining them into her opponent until the man stopped moving.

"Finally ready to stop holding yourself back?" Vermil asked.

"Magic is strong. But if Robin thinks that combat works just as well, then I'm not giving that up."

"You two, help me. I'm a bit ahead in my healing of the injured, so it's time to show these Feroxi just what kind of a civilized lady I am. Let's rip this battlefield apart." The two mages looked to see Argeni riding up to them on her horse. She gestured forward. The three took up a formation, summoned their magic into play, and cast. Fire, electricity, and wind exploded with force across the battlefield, sending even more Feroxi flying, and a massive dust cloud was generated, scattering the Feroxi troops.

Dant used the attack to her advantage, running through and bursting out of the cloud, daggers spinning in her hand. She danced and weaved alongside the battlefield, tan coat flapping beside her as she slashed her way across the battlefield. The assassin was back in her old garb and took back to her old role like second nature. The all-out brawl style of the battlefield meant that there was a plethora of targets available for a quick one-on-one execution. And that was something she took advantage of, dashing and dropping the Feroxi, moving in a zig-zag.

Dant eventually made her way to Robin, who was marching steadfastly across the battlefield. His crimson spear slashed through Feroxi, and the Battemaster fought with lightning at range when that wasn't good enough. Zulas stepped in line beside Robin, just as the other three members joined, a rank behind, magic at the ready.

"We've done enough to take out the Feroxi that are disturbing our ranks." Robin switched the spear to his left hand and thrust forward with his right. "Soldiers of Valm! Rally to my call and take back our line! Wolfguard, form up on me! Dire Wolves, cleanup!"

Soldiers rushed to him, red-coated ones for the normal Valm soldiers and those with wolf emblems who made up the Wolfguards. The Dire Wolves, fashioned with unique black bordered uniforms stayed back, concentrating on the Feroxi behind the Valm battle line. Now, Robin was ready to push them back.

"Charge!" Robin howled, gesturing forward with his spear. "It's time for us to retake the shieldwall!"

Across the battlefield, Valm surged, but the Feroxi met their charge head-on, meeting force with force, to which the Wolfguard did to the Feroxi what the Feroxi had done to the Valm line earlier. The Feroxi started falling, much to the dismay of the knight in pale green armor who was desperately trying to hold her position.

"Stand and fight, you cowards!" The green knight, a woman named Raimi, howled, trying to keep her own Feroxi line together. "We've got to win this fight for the West Khan! We can't fall here."

"That's incorrect. You can, and you will."

Raimi blinked as a Dant walked up in front of her, a Feroxi falling with a cut throat behind her. Dant thrust her hands forward, sending a wave of knives flying. Raimi brought her shield up, but that was never Dant's intent. Raimi lowered the shield to see the men to her side collapsing.

"Sorry, but they were in our way. I'd rather this be between just the two of us." Dant said. "I've something against people who disagree with reality. You're going to fall here."

"A duel, then?" Raimi looked at her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Dant." Dant said, flicking weapons to her hands, a pair of large daggers. "And I'm an assassin of Valm. I'm here to take you out, Raimi. See, I know who you are. The legendary shield of the Longfort. One of Flavia's most trusted captains. Your death will cripple Feroxi."

"So that's why you want to kill me?" Raimi prepared a spear thrust.

"Not exactly." Dant gave no further reply and charged at her. Raimi thrust, but Dant deflected using both her knives to get in close and leapt, kicking high off the shield to vault over Raimi. The Feroxi knight spun around, but Dant was inside her reach and flipped the armor-clad knight over her shoulder. Raimi rolled and tried to get to her feet with the momentum, but as she did so, Dant leapt on her fallen shield with two feet, forcing Raimi to let go of it or risk getting stuck on the ground.

The Feroxi knight got to her feet, spear in hand, facing the Valmese assassin. Dant smiled and flicked her wrists again, trading her twin daggers for more throwing knives which she let fly. Raimi brought up her arms to deflect them, but one skittered off her arm at an odd angle and drew a shallow trail of blood along her cheek.

Raimi lunged at Dant, but the assassin twisted out of the way and went in with her daggers. Raimi shifted her body, not enough to dodge, but enough such that the daggers skittered off the knight's armor. Raimi let go of her spear and thrust her fist forward. She made solid contact, hitting the breastplate that Dant wore and sending the assassin back, which Dant turned into a backflip, landing nimbly away from Raimi, daggers held in a reverse grip.

"I'll be honest with you right now. The real reason I want to kill you? Well, that's because you're a good fighter." Dant spat in the ground beside her. "Not bad, Feroxi. Not bad at all."

"You may be faster than me." Raimi said. "But you'll fine that it'll take more than a meager pair of kitchen knives to beat me. Go back to cutting potatoes, Valm scum. You'll not kill me."

"Not with these, anyway." Dant agreed, sheathing her daggers. "Honestly, I kind of hate doing this, but you've tipped my hand."

"Giving up already?"

"What gave you that idea? I thought that I already told you that I'm an assassin for Valm." Black magic blazed to life as Dant summoned forth her Shadowgift. The eerie black light glowed around her, shading the woman as her coat flapped around her. "As it happens, your death is inevitable, as there are others that can kill you. The problem is that I already staked my claim. As such, it's really a matter of pride to kill you personally. Goodbye, Raimi."

"Wait…" Raimi stared at Dant. "You're… But that's impossible!"

"Oh?" Dant grinned as a ball of magic materialized in her hand. "Recognize me at last, do you? Well, pity for you, it's too late. But as consolation, I'll take a page out of that magical runt's spellbook and make this one dramatic. Rivers of corruption, run through my enemies like the blood through my veins. Waste!"

Concentric rings materialized around Dant as the dark magic blasted through the Feroxi knight one, two, three, four times, corroding clean through the armor and destroying the flesh and bone where it struck. Raimi fell without a word, three holes in her chest and one clean through her right arm.

"The shield is dead." Dant said, drawing her knives again and looking to the Feroxi that we're standing back. "And with it, the Feroxi assault."

"Take the line and hold it!" Robin rushed forward, and the Wolfguard fell into place, setting up their shields where a gap in the line use to be. A wave of arrows and magic was unleashed at the same time, felling those among the Feroxi ready to storm the lines again. Now, with the death of Raimi, the Feroxi had started to withdraw, and now that was empathized by the Valm line reinforcing itself and the Dire Wolves finishing the clean-up.

"Did I hear that right?" Ravena asked. She was breathing hard – her stamina pool was the smallest among all of them, and now the line was being held, so she was fine. "Dant, I heard that, right?"

"Probably not." Dant said, frowning. "Are you referring to the spell, or…"

"Raimi recognized you." Ravena said, suspicious.

"Uh-huh. She'd better have." Dant grinned. "I fought in the Regna Ferox arena for a few years. Lots of tough old veterans there, excellent place to train. I was something of a local celebrity. Honestly, I'm surprised it took her as long as it did."

"Ease the chatter." Robin stepped up and gazed past the line. "Get ready…"

A handaxe flew through the air and punched clean through the shield of a Valm holding the line, sending the man backwards. Far across the battlefield, a woman in red and black armor ran forward, a wicked sword in one hand and throwing axes in her other, dark skinned with golden hair tied back. Khan Flavia, the Lioness. Robin met her gaze and prepared his stance, just as Flavia started charging in with a sword thrust.

Zulas stepped in front of him as the Khan reached the line and swung his spear, forcing the Khan to divert her thrust to defend herself. Khan Flavia looked towards Zulas and drew back her lips as she snarled at him. "Too scared to fight me yourself, Battlemaster?"

"Stay back, Khan." Zulas growled. "This is the Valm line. If you break it yourself, then you'll your chance at fighting the Battlemaster. But if you can't even get past my guard, then you have no business fighting the him."

"Why you-"

"Sorry, Battlemaster." Zulas called back. "I didn't mean to steal your fight, but the land claimed by Valm isn't such that anyone should be able to walk past in unchallenged. It's not your job to hold the line – that job belongs to me, and so as long as I draw breath, I'll stop anyone who's a threat to Valm!"

"Better listen to him, Khan." Robin said, standing behind Zulas. "If we exchanged blows, I don't think it'd be possible for both of us to walk away from the fight. One of us would certainly die, and that would be you. Are you sure you want to go through with something like that? Do you truly have no reasons to want to live?"

"I WIIL END YOU, BATTLEMASTER!"

"No. You will not. And I will not kill you either, not today at the very least." Robin shook his head. "I've made up my mind. I'm not fighting you. Of course, that's just my opinion. The nature of war is such that all you have to care about is what you want, and not anyone else. If you can get through my line, you might be able to get me to change my mind. But the question is – can you?"

Flavia looked to the side, seeing what Robin had already known. The Feroxi forces were depleted. They'd need to regroup to get more forces to where Robin was, far more forces. They wouldn't be able to do so for another few hours, by which Robin could get reinforcements of his own. There's be no last-ditch push on the part of Feroxi. Not at this time.

"But don't think that this duel won't happen." Robin said, suddenly. "You are the one in charge of Regna Ferox, aren't you?"

"I am the ruling Khan."

"Good. Then this is your responsibility." Robin said. "I was willing to come to terms. If you'd chosen to let Basilio parley with me, or even if you had been forced to order him to, you might have averted this. You chose to fight me. This battle, these deaths, they're on your hands, just as much as they are on mine."

"So you admit that, at least?"

"I'd be a poor Battlemaster if I didn't admit I've sent men to their deaths." Robin said. "But I've accepted the cost – have you?"

"I don't order men to their deaths, Battlemaster." Flavia said. "Those in Regna Ferox choose to follow my strength."

"Choice?" Robin said. "My soldiers have a choice. They chose when they signed up for my army. They swore their lives to Valm. What happens after that is still my responsibility, but a choice was given. It isn't my fault if people underestimate the strength and consequences of their decisions."

"You disgust me, Battlemaster."

"Naturally." Robin said. "Otherwise, you'd be on my side. Regardless, Khan, you mentioned that the Feroxi chose to follow your strength. What does that mean to you?"

"Is this some kind of joke to you?"

"No, it's what I think is a perfectly legitimate question." Robin said. "One that took me years to puzzle out the solution. What does strength mean to you?"

"You ask a Feroxi what strength is? We embody strength in a regard that the likes of you cannot even comprehend!" Flavia spat at Robin. "Strength is the thing that lets me grind my boot in your face. It's a Feroxi's pride. It's what lets us stand in the cold, stand in the face of our enemies, and lets us stand in the way of evil like you!"

"And now it's time that your naivety sickens me." Robin said, shaking his head and walking off. Flavia howled and tried to shove past Zulas, only to be forced back by a rain of fire and wind spells. Flavia hissed like a wounded cat and leapt backwards.

"COWARD!" Flavia howled. "I name you COWARD, Battlemaster!"

"All the same." Robin said. "They're all the same. You're all the same. All that thought towards what it is, not what it's used for." Robin stopped short, but he didn't turn around, keeping his back to the Khan. "Khan Flavia. Strength is just a measure of how effective you can carry out your goals. It's not important. It's never important. It's what your goals are that's important. But you don't care about what those goals are."

"You dare judge me!?"

"Beware, Khan!" Robin head whipped around, and his eye darkened as he fixed his gaze into her. "Beware. Make no mistake that while you are no doubt the strongest of your meager band of loyal followers, there will come a day when you are no longer among them, but amongst those stronger than you. You will find yourself lost, alone, and humbled. And that is when you will suffer."

"Meaningless babble-"

"No! I do not know when I will fall, Khan Flavia, but until I do, I will work as hard as I can to turn this world into my vision." Robin said. "I will crush all who dare oppose me under the heel of the Valm Empire, and if I die in the process, I'll do so with the knowledge that my all was given. But, pray tell, what do you have? Morals? Ethics? Don't make me laugh! You chose to aid Ylisse only because Chrom won the arena duel to give you control of your country, at which point you ransacked the Plegian treasury the moment you won the war."

"You're nothing more than a common thug who happens to be stronger and more connected than other thugs to make yourself lucky enough to become a queen of bandits. Your nation is nothing more than a joke, a gathering of misfits who were chased from anywhere decent to the point where they had to fend for themselves in the middle of a frozen hellscape of country." Robin went on. "You have no ideals! You have no aspirations! All you have is a mild case of a delusion of grandeur because you want 'strength', whatever that means to you, with no actual idea of what you're going to do with your strength once you have it! Like I said, people like you sicken me. You hoard power to do nothing with it. I'd rather suffer a thousand deluded maniacs who have actual goals than face the likes of you, a woman who just beats heads for the sake of it. All you add to this world is chaos, and you don't even do it under the misbelief that you're helping the situation. You're frostbite, East Khan. Gangrenous rot in the bones of humanity. And for that, there's only one cure."

Flavia stood there, frozen in place, even as Feroxi soldiers rushed in around their Khan. Robin shook his head, as red began to appear on the Khan's face. Flavia grew furious, red in the face, and drew a throwing axe, aiming it at the tactician.

"And the only means that you can responded is by violence. Well, if you want to see the difference between us, I'm only too happy to oblige." Robin turned around and called forth purple flames from his bloodline. Robin thrust his arm forward, conjuring lightning as he did so. "THORON!"

Electricity exploded outwards, striking the axe even as Flavia brought it up to throw it, and a blast of force hurled the East Khan backwards, sending the woman flying. Robin turned around, and walked off, disappearing into the Valm lines before she could get up and try again.

"Tomorrow." Robin said to himself. "This day's battle will come to an end soon enough. And then it will all be settled by tomorrow."

-East Plegia Desert-

"Hey, Chrom?"

"Couldn't sleep, Liv?" Chrom was sitting by a fire in the middle of his camp. He wasn't keeping watch – his camp was with the Shepherds, and that was inside the entire Ylissean encampment. It was now late at night, and the Ylissean Exalt was staring into the flickering embers. "I can try at get a more comfortable tent for you if you want."

"It's not the tent that's the problem." Olivia said kindly as the Ylissean queen sat down next to the Exalt. The Exalt had changed out of his combat gear, but instead wore a simple royal blue tunic. Olivia was wearing a flowing nightgown. "You can go to sleep tonight, you know. Even though it's just marching tomorrow."

"I can't help but think about Regna Ferox." Chrom said. His fingers moved uneasily, almost as if they were trying to grasp the ever-familiar Falchion at his side. "We defeated a Valmese army today, that much is true. But we didn't defeat Valm's main army today. What we were fighting was a splinter of it. Robin wasn't present, nor any of his closest generals. I've no doubt that right now they're fighting the Khans."

"Chrom, worrying won't change anything." Olivia said, softly. "The one we fought today was strong in his own right, wasn't he? And he had some strong forces with him. I don't think that the army left behind will be strong enough to defeat Regna Ferox."

"Ignatius." Chrom said. "He wasn't weak, that's for sure. And he's also their naval general, so he was facing a disadvantage fighting us on land, but this was a hard-won fight all the same. You may be right, Liv. Valm's other army shouldn't be able to defeat the full might of Regna Ferox by themselves."

"Then why…?"

"Robin." Chrom said.

"Are you worried about him?"

"No." Chrom shook his head. "Quite frankly, the opposite. He's too smart to do something this stupid. He wouldn't sacrifice his army for no reason. And they were prepared to retreat – the remnants of the army scattered too fast and efficiently. In fact, I think that might have been the plan from the beginning – we might have breached their line too fast or maybe Ignatius was unwilling too retreat."

"Taking strategy lessons from Morgan, have you?" His wife asked. "Chrom, this isn't the best time to think about things like this. We'll have the march tomorrow, and you can discuss it with everyone then. Speaking of which, is Morgan back?"

"No." Chrom shook his head. "She said that she might have to spend time with the others. You know – Marth's group. But our other strategists are also good. And I don't think we'd change our decision if I knew what he was up to. But he's up to something."

"Are you worried for Regna Ferox?"

"Khan Flavia is leading them." Chrom said, sighing. "She's both hotheaded and hardheaded. Not to mention that she's a bit conniving when it comes to grabbing power. She did leverage aid to Ylisse in order to win her country back, you know."

"I know." Olivia smiled. "Basilio didn't care that much that you won, you know. I think he would have pledged support to Ylisse as well."

"Heh. Those who live in Regna Ferox take on the appearance of the country – cold, biting, and quite inhospitable." Chrom said. "But those of Regna Ferox are warm at heart if you get to know them. But then none of us are quite perfect. Despite her flaws, I consider Khan Flavia to be a true friend, both of myself and of Ylisse. She's fierce – like a fire that burns strong, and regardless of her past, right now she's as staunch of an ally as you could want. I would hate to lose her."

"She'll be fine, Chrom." Olivia said. "Don't worry, she's got my father to look after her. And Khan Basilio is as tough as they come. Robin may think he's got everything figured out, but we'll be there in a few days. I'm sure nothing bad will happen."

"I hope so too, Liv." Chrom said. "I hope so too."

A/N:Lots of fun stuff in this chapter. The war between Valm and Ferox was supposed to only last one chapter, but it got splint into two because of its length, but on the flip side I got to spotlight some characters without much appearance recently, like Dant. It's nice to finally have her back and able to rejoin the main cast.

Also, please don't think Chrom's not going to get there in time. Sorry, but the only incoming reinforcements in this battle are going to be Valm's.