Robin hoped that their journey towards Plegia would go uninterrupted and without any trouble. Yet, while crossing through the thick, arctic wilderness, Frederick took the opportunity to scout ahead. What he found was a single village, isolated in the forest, surrounded by a band of bandits. The knight reported to Chrom that only a single woman with red hair defended the village, and was likely to be overrun at any moment. The tactician already knew what to expect from his friend when the report was given.
"Although we may no longer be in Ylisse, the Shepherds shall defend this town!" Chrom declared. "Robin, I need you to come up with a strategy."
"Of course," Robin nodded. "Give me a minute to think."
The Shepherds were set up on a hill that overlooked the forest that surround the village. Sure enough, Robin could see movement amongst the trees, most likely the bandits pressing on to the village. A fierce river separated them from the village, although a bridge was built to offer safe passage. Yet, with the way the bandits moved, they would be able to intercept any forces crossing the the south, the tactician saw two men shouting out orders, the commanders of the attack. They would need to be eliminated.
Robin took a quick estimate of the bandits he could see, and determined that the Shepherds could match them per person. Yet, to do so would mean risking injury, something that could hinder them in their upcoming battles with Plegia. Additionally, if Miriel or Ricken or any of the other mages fell, it would make traveling across the harsh deserts rougher. For the sake of the war, the tactician would have to limit their forces. Running through the calculations in his head, he came up with a suitable plan that will only take ten of their available forces.
"We'll split into three teams," Robin declared. "Chrom, I want you to lead the reinforcements to the village. Stahl and Sully will aid in the fight and escorting Maribelle until the four of you can give the woman defending the town aid."
"Fair enough," Chrom nodded in agreement. "What of you?"
"I suppose it was a good idea for you to implement our new flying forces," Robin smirked. "With Cordelia and Sumia, Gaius and I can give covering fire until we can get to their commander's position. From there, they'll drop us off and keep us safe while we fight their leader."
"And who will I be leading?" Frederick questioned.
"You'll be leading the remaining Shepherds here as back up," Robin told the knight. "I'm having Virion take Panne north of our position to clear that out. After they're done with that, they'll meet with Chrom or I, depending on who needs more help."
"Are you sure we should leave some of the Shepherds out of this fight?" Chrom asked.
"I am," Robin confidently answered. "I'd rather not take any risk for injury, especially since we're at full strength."
"If you insist," Chrom shrugged. "Frederick, you have your orders. We'll handle it from here."
Frederick nodded and led the benched Shepherds away from the battlefield, leaving the ten. Robin was glad that they were all close enough to overheard his plan, which meant that he did not need to repeat everything over again. Sully and Stahl rode up to Chrom and Maribelle respectively and helped them up onto their horses. Virion approached Panne with a smug grin, taking a few steps away from him. The tactician thought that out of the Shepherds, those two would be best for fighting in the woods, and hoped that they would be able to work together.
The pegasus knights and Gaius waited for Robin, who walked over to join them. The tactician and thief pulled themselves to join Cordelia and Sumia on their mounts. Hesitantly, Robin wrapped an arm around Cordelia, and with his spare hand, he pulled out the new tome. It would be good to get back to fighting with magic once more, something he preferred over swords easily. Gaius likewise pulled out his sword with one hand and wrapped his arm around Sumia, more comfortable with her.
"Thanks for the tome, Cordelia," Robin quickly told her without thanking. "I've been meaning to tell you that."
"No problem," Cordelia nodded. "Ready?"
"Ready!" Robin nodded back.
"To battle, Shepherds!" Chrom called out.
The cavaliers rushed off to confront the knights while Panne and Virion traveled north from the edge of the forest. The pegasus knights took flight, with Robin noting that they were not going as fast as they could. Given how close their targets were, going at full speed may be too dangerous. Now in the air, the tactician was able to get a better idea of the bandit's numbers. Five bandits guarded their single warlord while there were three bandits to the north, lying in ambush. There was a bandit guarding the bridge leading to the village, but he was not around for too much longer. Sumia flew past him while a sword slash from Gaius sent him crashing into the river.
While the rest of the Shepherds clashed against the ambushing knights, Cordelia flew out to aid Sumia and Gaius, who faced two bandit reinforcements on the edge of the river: a mage and a warrior wielding an axe. While flying towards them, the pegasus knight and thief worked together, with the latter shielding the former with his sword while she struck down the mage. Robin flipped through the pages of his tome, reading from it while pointing a hand towards the remaining warrior. A powerful surge of thunder struck his chest,sending him flying across the open, snowy field. The tactician grinned, glad to have his magic back.
Another wizard tried to flank the duo from behind. Thankfully, Cordelia heard him coming, and had her pegasus fly in a circle, avoiding the lightning blast. During the short moment he faced the ambusher, Robin quickly chanted, letting a bolt of lightning strike him across his face. His opponent crashed into the ground with a thud, unmoving asides from an occasional twitch. The two pegasus knights landed in front of the bridge, giving the tactician time to analyze the enemy. Three warriors, including the commander, and a single archer.
"Easy pickings, am I right, Bubbles?" Gaius grinned.
"Not with that archer," Robin shook his head, and threw himself off from the pegasus, his feet landing in the snow. "Cordelia, Sumia, fly back until that archer is dealt with. Gaius, keep the warriors stalled until they can join us once more."
"Roger that," Sumia nodded to the plan.
"Please tell me I'm not the only one who has a problem with me fighting three of them at once," Gaius sighed, hopping down from the pegasus.
"You're good at dodging," Robin smirked.
"Maybe you could send one of us north to aid Chrom?" Cordelia asked with a hint of hope in her voice. "Aurora can carry me there within a few seconds."
"I saw a few arrows flying through the threes up there," Gaius reported. "Not sure how many, but there's more than one."
"The plan doesn't change," Robin told the group. "Let's get ready."
Robin could see the disappointment on Cordelia's face as she frowned before she disappeared with Sumia into the skies. Of course, with her infatuation for Chrom, there was little he could do. The battle was important, but part of him was pained to see the pegasus knight look at him like that instead of the way she looks at their leader. He quickly pushed that thought aside, reminding himself of the battle. The tactician nodded to Gaius, with the two advancing across the bridge. He stood on the middle of it with the thief guarding the front of it. The bandits were aware of their presence, and started to advance, only to be halted by their commanders raised fist.
"Hold position!" the commander called out with a grin.
"Got it, Victor!" one of the bandits called back.
"Didn't see that coming," Gaius sighed. "Why didn't they take the free bait that carries sweets on him?"
"Curses, they know we're trying to lure them out for Cordelia and Sumia to engage," Robin muttered under his breath. "New plan! I'll cover you while you get to the archer!"
"And leave you exposed?" Gaius argued back quickly.
"I can handle myself," Robin grinned. "Follow orders."
Gaius hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and stepped aside. Robin charged forward, flipping through the pages of his tome. The thief followed behind him, slowing down to allow his friend to take charge. He stopped in front of the lead bandit in the formation, and muttered a quick incantation, two surges of thunder ending his life. Gaius ran past the tactician and leaped over the smoldering corpse, and slashed his sword twice across the archer: the first to break his bow, and the other to separate his head from his body.
With the archer defeated, all they had to do was hold out long enough for Cordelia and Sumia to join the fray. The remaining bandit charged forward, swinging his axe wildly at Gaius. The thief easily sidestepped the blow, and with a series of slashes across his chest, ended his life. Victor took a step back from Gaius and grinned wickedly. Even though his men were all dead, he was still confident that he could win the battle.
"I was born a Victor, and victory will be mine!" Victor called out.
"Now, that was a good pun," Gaius chuckled. "I almost hate that I have to kill- GRAH!"
Robin screamed out for his friend, seeing the axe Victor held in his hands flying out towards Gaius, but it was too late. The weapon struck true, burying its blade deep into his shoulder and sent him plummeting to the ground. The tactician rushed to aid the thief, kneeling by his side while forgetting for the battle momentarily. Instead of moving forward to strike, Victor ran towards the trees. He cursed upon seeing the outline of the bridge, realizing that escape was his plan all along. Although he was chanting a new spell, he knew that it was too late for him to stop it.
However, before Victor could hide within the trees, a spear struck him, glancing off his side. He growled, looking up to see Cordelia, flying down to intercept him while throwing another javelin. He too threw another axe, letting it soar past her weapon, which struck him true in the shoulder. It would have been easy enough for Robin to finish off the bandit, he knew how devastating his axe throws were. He extended his hand toward the sky, a blast of lightning slamming into the weapon in midair and sending it towards the ground.
While Victor had been distracted by Cordelia, he was oblivious to Sumia, who flew low and struck at the bandit with her lance, piercing an artery in his leg. He screamed out in pain, and swung another axe towards her. She flew back just in time to avoid its deadly edge, and struck out against his face, leaving a nasty slash that left him blind in one eye. Robin helped Gaius up from the ground, letting the thief pull the axe free from his shoulder while he flipped through the pages of his tome.
"I have just the spell to finish the dastard off," Robin muttered.
"I got this, Bubbles," Gaius grinned. "Just this once, then you can be the hero."
Before Robin could stop his friend, Gaius dashed forward in a sprint, leaving a trail of his own blood on the white snow. He slid underneath Sumia's pegasus while her lance clashed with Victor's axe, and quickly stood back up. He pivoted around to face the bandit, who grew more alarmed as he was now exposed. Not giving him the chance to react, he swung his blade across his throat. More blood splashed on the snow while Victor collapsed on the ground, struggling with his final breath.
"I… seee an open field, Vincent," Victor coughed out some blood, finally passing away. "Such beautiful flowers…"
"Damn shame I'm in too much pain to think of a pun," Gaius held onto his open wound. "It stings."
"Gaius!" Sumia hopped off her pegasus and rushed off to check in on him. "That looks really bad!"
"I'll survive," Gaius assured her.
"Try not to be so reckless, Gaius," Robin warned his friend. "You could have lost an arm, or even worse, your life."
"It's not too bad," Gaius shrugged, grimacing in pain. "Have Princess or Twinles look at it, and then I'll be good in the morning. I think this was a qualified success for our new unit, wouldn't you think?"
"It was a risky plan, but it paid off," Cordelia nodded in agreement. "We should head back to the others now."
"Agreed, but we'll split up for now," Robin declared. "Sumia, take Gaius north before he bleeds out so Maribelle can treat him. Cordelia, we'll fly out to meet Frederick and the rest of the Shepherds to tell them how the battle went."
Sumia nodded, and quickly supported Gaius over to her pegasus. Robin pulled himself up to rejoin Cordelia, who flew off back to the hill where the Shepherds were first gathered. He took a look at the battlefield, and grinned upon seeing that the rest of the bandits had been dealt with. He kept his arms around the pegasus knight confidently, glad to have won the battle. Maybe this partnership between the two of them would work out.
A/N: I bet none of you saw this coming. Normally, paralogue 2 happens later in the story, but I decided to save it and make use of it now to show how effective the new tactics for the Pegasus Knights. There's another reason I thought about showing this now, but that's for later on.
Warrior of Six Blades: Yeah, I get what you mean. Also, I feel this chapter shows more of the forming trust and bond between Robin and Cordelia. It'll continue to grow, especially with the Shepherds growing closer to Plegia.
Until next time