A Summoner's Journey
Grand Hero Battle: Legion
Team for this chapter: Katarina, Klein, Camus and Priscilla
"Hmm… this might be the most challenging Grand Hero Battle yet" Robin observed. A few days after I received the Echoes of Mystery summoning banner, two Grand Hero Battle cards flew in for Legion and Clarisse. We decided to tackle Legion first "The enemy team has you immediately surrounded if you take advantage of the defensive tiles in the middle and the postcard warns us of reinforcements appearing from all sides"
"What's with the multiple Legion clones?" Robinne pointed to the two Legions on opposite sides of the battlefield "The card notes that two more Legions will spawn on the top and bottom of the map after certain enemies are slain"
"Legion is a… odd and tragic tale. He was originally one person, but Lady Eremiya twisted dozens of young boys to his command and they became his clones in appearance, speech pattern and lethality as a fighter" Katarina explained "Now it's almost impossible to determine who the real Legion is. They're like a hive mind"
"That's… horrifying" Robinne put her hand on Katarina's shoulder "I'm sorry you had to grow up under those conditions"
"It wasn't all bad. Me and the original Legion were close friends and my sister Clarisse, cold as she may be, is still good at heart" Katarina smiled at Robinne's gesture "But nevertheless, let's get back to the battle against Legion. The postcard doesn't specifically say which enemies trigger the Legion reinforcements upon their deaths, so we can't capitalize on that to control enemy density"
"I suggest we take advantage of the defensive tiles in the center to bear the brunt of the attack and force them to go through the southern opening" Robin pointed to the only clear entrance to the defensive tiles, where our portal was presumed to open "While the enemy Legion struggle to reach us through the south entrance, we can focus on the mages and archer bombarding us from the other side"
"One small problem Robin" Jeorge tapped the three walls separating the defensive tiles from the enemy team "These three walls look breakable from this visual. If we take shelter on the tiles, we're in danger of being surrounded on all sides if they break down the walls"
"Good point… maybe we can try to stay on the move and flank around the enemy using the outer edges of the field" Robinne traced her finger from our assumed starting position to the perimeter of the map, starting on the left side where a Legion clone and red mage awaited us "It'll let avoid any reinforcements coming from the south and right sides while keeping engagements with the northern enemies to a minimum"
"The narrow halls will make ally switching a problem if we need someone specific to handle an enemy, but it'll also let us deal with one foe at a time" Jeorge scratched his chin "We can also send someone with Axebreaker to the center to snipe the Legions from behind cover while the others handle the mages. This person should preferably be a fire mage to capitalize on the weapon triangle"
"And should reinforcements arrive from the south to threaten our Axebreaker mage, the units on the flank can break down the walls to get them out of there" Robinne nodded in agreement "I think that's the best plan of action. It'll let us keep the control of battle and strike the enemy from unexpected angles. We'll use their terrain against them"
"Alright then. Let's decide who we're taking" I crossed my arms in thought "Ideally, I'd like the fire mage to be Celica, but we're going to need a healer to keep her Ragnarok effect up, so I want more consistent performance"
I looked at Katarina "Are you up for it Katarina? I know that Rauðrblade+ tome has been doing wonders for you"
Katarina snapped her fingers, sparking a flame that created her tome out of thin air. She studied the image of two crossed golden swords over a crimson cover thoughtfully.
"If you'll find me useful, I'll be happy to help out. I know for a fact that fighting and defeating Legion is the only way to get him on our side, so kicking around my old friend wouldn't be too painful" The tactician nodded, then frowned "However, I'm going to need some support from the team via Hones or Fortify skills to power up the Rauðrblade+. Otherwise, it's just as effective as my weaker Rauðrowl+ tome"
"I was thinking of bringing Klein along to readily snipe the mages with ease, so I could grab a spare Olivia or Eirika to give him Hone Attack or Hone Speed respectively" I said and Katarina smiled in agreement "So Hone Attack or Hone Speed?"
"Hone Speed. Legion himself has always shown exceptional speed among the assassin group, tying with Clarisse in a footrace. I'm going to need the extra horsepower to catch him if he darts away to dodge" Katarina pursed her lips "Though Axebreaker means a single strike will render him useless aside from punching us, but the less people crowding the hallway, the better"
"Alright, so we have Katarina as the Legion killer and Klein as the mage slayer" I stared at the enlarged map layout for a second "I was considering bringing Camus and Priscilla along to assist Klein, but should a Legion escape from Katarina's attacks, Camus can find himself at a large disadvantage"
"But if we swap Camus out for Xander, we'll have two reds and two colourless units. We'll be toast if we go up against a lancer or thunder mage Klein alone can't defeat" Robinne pointed out "If only we had a axe cavalier with an innate Distant Counter weapon. It'll let us keep the mobility and versatility Xander and Camus had, but with better triangle control"
"With Axebreaker and a Hone Speed boost, Katarina should be accurate enough to strike the Legions and break their axes" Robin reasoned "I say we give it a go. Katarina will move to the center to take down the Legions while Camus, Klein and Priscilla will go down the right hallway to bring down the thunder mage knight that'll trouble her"
"And those three will ride towards the archer in the back before he can trouble Katarina while she handles the fire mage" Robinne continued "And they'll handle reinforcements as they come. Katarina should stay in the center to take advantage of the unbroken walls and defensive tiles"
"Alright then. So let's assemble the team and get going" I nodded to Jeorge "Go find Camus, Priscilla and Klein at the five star suite above the barracks and tell them to meet me at the portal courtyard. Katarina, you're coming with me"
"Right. See you when I get back Robin!" Katarina waved Robin goodbye and Robinne laughed at her brother's blush. I led the tactician down to the storage room to her surprise, intent on finding an Eliwood skill manual for Axebreaker.
"Someone should really organize these. It's a mess here…" I muttered as I dug through bags full of promotional badges and Universal Crystals and Shards. The storage was semi-organized, though not to a good degree. Several sacks were labelled with what they were supposed to hold, but a few were overflowing such as the Hero Feather sack and others had items from other bags thrown in like two orbs inside the Light's Blessing container. The skill manuals were stacked on a dusty table in the corner and I considering moving them to the library. Each manual was green with the hero's name on it, along with their rarity. It indicated what skills a hero could gain by reading the manual.
"Is it this one?" Katarina picked up a manual off the ground, blowing dust off of it. I checked and the cover said "Eliwood" with "Four Stars" written in black. I nodded.
"Yep, this is it. Go to the section about Axebreaker and practice the technique on training dummies in the training yard. I'll go check if Camus, Priscilla and Klein are ready in the lobby" I found an Eirika skill manual for Klein after Katarina left and headed back to the lobby. I found the three already assembled and handed the manual to Klein, telling him to learn Hone Speed while we were waiting for Katarina to finish. I explained our strategy to the three until Katarina showed up beside me, announcing that she has learned Axebreaker. The disappearance of the Eirika skill manual confirmed that Klein learned Hone Speed, so we went to the World of Mystery portal, Legion card in hand and leaped inside.
We landed in a small abandoned fortress, with the nighttime desert behind us. Just like the card shown, there were four defensive tiles plus three breakable walls in the center. Presumingly, enemies hid behind those walls to await our advance.
"We are Legion…" One Legion began and another Legion interrupted him. "
"Hey, we're Legion too!"
"All of uses are one, and one is all of uses"
"Hey, all of uses... It's time to fight, fight, fight!" A fourth Legion voice rallied and the enemy stirred to life, readying their weapons. I nodded to my heroes and they proceeded just like we planned. Katarina immediately seized the center defensive tiles and opened her Rauroblade tome, which was empowered by Klein's Hone Speed. The tactician chanted her spell and thrust her hand to the right, where a rainstorm of crimson swords fell from the air and bombarded the right side with furious fire magic. I heard one Legion cry out in agony as his axe broke while the thunder mage knight grunted in pain, but didn't sound too fazed. Katarina threw down her second shot and nailed the first Legion while Camus, Klein and Priscilla moved in to silence the mage knight. I followed behind them to keep myself safe.
"Charge!" Camus disrupted the mage knight's Thoron with a lance through the stomach, then send his head flying off his neck with a follow up attack. Camus kicked the mage knight's fading body out of the way with his horse just as the archer came behind the corner and fired his Brave Bow+. The two arrows were tinged with red light, indicating Death Blow and one of them was wrapped in blue and yellow light too, confirming Moonbow. Camus raised his shield to block, but the arrows cut deep into the metal, making sizeable dents. One even made it past and struck Camus's gut. Klein returned fire at the archer with his own Brave Bow, distracting him long enough for Camus to finish him while Priscilla healed him up.
"Lance cavalier and thunder mage coming in from the south and north respectively!" Katarina called as she shot down another inferno of fiery blades, incinerating the fire mage to dust while destroying the second Legion's weapon and his Aegis. Having no way of breaking down the wall, the second Legion ran around to hopefully punch Katarina, but the tactician expelled a short, but powerful plume of fire through her hand, which lanced through Legion's heart and burned it to a crisp. With the second Legion dead, a sword cavalier appeared from the south.
"Sword cavalier coming from the south! I'm going to have to retreat!" Katarina called and Priscilla's Pain staff resonated, breaking down the right wall in a single cast, letting Katarina escape the dual cavalier's wrath. Behind the cover of the second unbroken wall, Klein and Katarina rained destruction on the cavaliers with a mix of fire magic and arrows, taking the two down swiftly. Camus dueled with the lance cavalier, Gradivus to Heavy Spear while Priscilla healed Camus's wounds. The Grustian paladin managed to get under the enemy cavalier's guard and stab him several times before piercing his neck with Bonfire.
"Another thunder mage knight from the north!" Camus reported before charging to meet him in combat. The mage knight was surprised and tried to back up to cast Blarraven+, but Camus stabbed him once before missing his follow up attack. The mage knight began summoning a cloud of ravens, but Camus threw his Gradivus and impaled the mage knight in the shoulder, taking him down. The ravens still reached Camus and did a sizeable amount of damage, which Priscilla immediately healed later.
"Two Legions from the north!" Camus reported as he and Priscilla retreated.
"Two Legions from the south too!" Klein called as he fired two crimson-tinged arrows at the charging Legion, only for them to blocked by their axe.
"Get back into the center and use the defensive tiles. Both of them are coming down the right hall, so Camus, take the front while Katarina, me, Klein and Priscilla stay behind!" I commanded and my units jumped into the tiles just as the Legions reached us. Before they could turn and engage Camus, Klein and Katarina bombarded the narrow area with both arrows and magic, turning it into a Legion bloodbath. The last Legions's barely made it to Camus's shield before he was down from Rauorblade's blast radius. With the last Legion fading, the battle was won.
"Whuh? Whoses are youses? We are Legion...and we are Legion too. Uwe hee hee!" Legion said after the battle. I honestly had no idea how to figure out his speech pattern, so I left Katarina to talk with him while we headed back to Askr. Now it was time to strategize for Clarisse's Grand Hero Battle.
Assassins Twisted at Birth: Katarina and Legion's Conversation
"Ooh! It's youses Reese! Good to see yous!" Legion looked around himself in confusion once we came back to the portal courtyard "Where are my brotherses?"
"So that means you're the head of the Legions" Katarina nodded "Okay Roro, I'm going to explain everything to you. Follow me to the castle gardens, where we can be alone"
"I don't think it would be easy to get him into Alfonse's class about Askr. Just explain the basic and necessary things to him" I said and Legion stared at me with a slightly irritated look, though it was hard to tell behind his mask.
"I'm not dumbses, summoner. I just don't like the think a lot" Legion shrugged "Just give me the order to killses and I'll do it. Very simple, you see?"
"Well, if you'll follow orders to the letter, then I have no problems" I shrugged "Now if you excuse me, I gotta strategize for Clarisse's battle. You can join us later after you're done talking to Legion, Katarina"
"Will do. Follow me Legion" Katarina gestured with her hand to follow and Legion trailed behind her towards the gardens.
"So what are you doing here Reese?" Legion asked "Eremiya told me to go bring my brotherses and kill that guy with armorses. Horace, I think"
"I was summoned here shortly after my defeat in the World of Mystery" Katarina replied "So I guess I should start with the explanations now. Legion, this is Askr. We here are known as "heroes", units that fight in Askr's army to combat the opposing Emblian Empire"
"So we're not assassinses anymore? Just regular soldiers?"
"Yes we are. Whenever we're called upon to fulfill a task or go out to fight, Lucian, Prince Alfonse, Princess Sharena or Commander Anna will come get us" Katarina paused "On second thought, I think that's all I need to tell you. We are soldiers of an army and the commanders will find us whenever they need us to fight. If they don't, we'll help out the army or train ourselves"
"Sounds goodses. So where do I go sleep? Rooms here are better than in the church, yeses?" Legion asked, checking every nook and cranny around the castle hallway like he was curious child.
"Visit Commander Anna's office for her to assign you a room in the barracks. If Lucian decides to promote you, you'll be moved to the five star suite above the barracks, which is much more luxurious and comfy naturally"
"Good to knowses. Where do I find this Anna's office?"
"I'll lead you there. I might need to talk to her for you to help your… odd manner of speaking"
"Hey! It's not my faultses!"
…
Shortly before we headed back to the World of Mystery for the Clarisse Grand Hero Battle, I took Legion along with Olivia, Priscilla and Serra to the training tower. Despite his odd behavior and speech, Legion was an extremely competent fighter in his own right. His strikes with his Legion's Axe came fast and strong, easily crushing most enemies in his way easily. His speed allowed him to evade attacks reliably too, though his defenses are thin and should an accurate enemy strike him with an arrow or sword, Legion would fall quickly. Compounding this weakness is his reckless nature and use of the Fury skill, making him easier to kill over the course of a battle. His heavy pain tolerance does remedy this however, letting Legion blow through enemy attacks unexpectedly and strike them down. All in all, a solid offensive axe fighter for our army, which was good considering Anna and Minerva were the only other fast axe users here.
"Alright, he's been training for a good two hours and a half. Legion, back to the castle! Priscilla and Serra, heal him!" I ordered and surprisingly, Legion followed my order exactly. He even left some retreating enemies get away, which was not something I expected from him. He may be hard to talk to, but I suspected a broken jolly spirit within. It really was sad how Eremiya broke so many potentially great or influential people in the World of Mystery and I feared Clarisse may be another one of the many.
And that was Legion's Grand Hero Battle, the hardest GHB of it's debut time with the infamous Infernal difficulty. Naturally such a hard Grand Hero Battle requires a lot of strategy, which is why this story's version looks a little less ragequit-worthy than the actual map. But hey, a sound strategy can beat any Heroes map, especially if you got four tacticians by your side. Legion himself is a fine unit, with solid HP, Attack and Speed. Both of his defensive stats are low, but a refined weapon can bring his HP to the point of being able to sponge one attack to go down into Desperation range, so it isn't all that bad. But because of his GHB status, Raven easily outclasses Legion due to his refined Basilikos, access to IVs and merges. Still, a good F2P glass cannon. Coming up next is the Clarisse Grand Hero Battle and then the Ylissean Summer paralogue (It's hard tracking GHBs now that their banners are gone) If you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to leave constructive criticism or praise, leave a review. Until next time, fellow summoners!