Two days before the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. The time for training was done; it was advised to be wise and prepare for the battle up ahead. There was also one last bit of news Byleth had to deliver for her class, which had them shocked. "You're not taking part!?" Caspar was the first person to speak.
"Yes." Byleth nodded slowly. She knew this came as a shock to everyone. "Professor Manuela is unable to participate because of her injury. With the Golden Deer being down their Professor, it didn't seem very fair for Hanneman and I to do the same. We wanted to do this together."
"...That's very sweet of you, Professor." Dorothea said with a slight smile. Manuela must have appreciated that so much, and Dorothea did as well in the process. Byleth's thoughtfulness was one of the many reasons people liked her so much.
"I apologize for dropping this so suddenly on all of you..." Byleth said." I was looking forward to fighting alongside all of you."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Professor." Edelgard shook her head. "It shows considerable character to do what you are doing. If nothing else, this is a chance for us to display everything that you have taught us."
"W-We have to go out there without the Professor? ...Can I stay in my room, please?" Bernadetta was pleading for this. She was just scarcely okay with everything they had done so far. Battle of the Eagle and Lion. She did not think she could handle this.
"How exciting! I cannot wait to display the fruits of my training here with you all!" Flayn was practically bouncing around. Maybe Seteth would stop getting on her case if she did well here, too!
"Doing this on our own, huh?" Shez thought about that for a moment. In truth, she did firmly believe that with Byleth's help, the Black Eagles would've come out on top without much trouble. But at the same time, that didn't sit right with her. It was clear how powerful Byleth was... "I don't mind."
"Y-You don't!?" Bernadetta looked at Shez like she was insane.
"This is a great chance!" Shez turned to the rest of the class. "People have always been talking about how strong Professor Byleth is ever since she showed up. I think they're overlooking us as well!"
"I prefer being overlooked..." Bernadetta whimpered.
'No, I am understanding what Shez is saying!" Petra gave an excited nod. "The Professor's strength is very high. But I am believing we are very strong ourselves!"
"Strength alone doesn't win battles." Hubert pointed out.
"Personally, I'd like to do as little work as possible so I can get a nap in." Lindhart admitted. This whole battle business sounded extremely exhausting.
"Oh, come on, Lin." Dorothea gave him a smile. "At least give us this one day. I'm sure you can go back to your naps after this."
"Worry not. I will lead everyone to victory." Ferdinand stated confidently.
"And I'll take out anyone who comes our way!" Caspar said eagerly.
"I may not be taking part in the battle, but I can still help you with strategies." Byleth offered. She was still their teacher, and this coming battle was going to be a combined effort between teachers and students to see which class came out on top.
"We will most certainly need some ideas." Edelgard wasn't afraid to admit this. "There are some problematic opponents on all sides. If we don't deal with them properly, things could snowball against us."
"And who do you think these opponents are, Lady Edelgard?" Hubert wanted to hear her opinion, as did the rest of the class.
"Yeah, Lady Edelgard. I want to hear all about your ideas." Monica gave Edelgard a smiled. It was an annoying one, but Edelgard was going to ignore this and push on.
"That is simple." Edelgard said while walking over to the blackboard. "From the Blue Lions: Dimitri, Mercedes, and Luke. This isn't to say that the rest of them are not problems, but these are the ones to look out for the most. I don't think I need to explain why."
"Dimitri is super strong, Mercedes can heal and barely takes damage because of it, and Luke is a wildcard..." Shez understood Edelgard's reasons. All three of them were prime targets, but this did not mean to write off the other Blue Lions entirely.
"From the Golden Deer..." Edelgard continued. "Claude and Lysithea pose the biggest threats. Leonie is overzealous, and I would advise to steer away from Rapheal in a physical confrontation."
"That's a wise idea." Byleth nodded. "Raphael may be a big target, but his size still works to his advantage. More importantly, if you are in a battle you do not think you can win, there is no shame in retreat. This is a team effort, so you must support one another when the time calls for it. Much like a real battle."
"The Golden Deer seem tough..." Dorothea admitted. "Claude tends to be very sneaky. I can't begin to imagine what sort of plans he's cooking up in that head of his."
"If we're lucky, perhaps his own team won't either." Hubert stated. "Claude is not the type to show all of his cards, perhaps even to his allies. Because of this, I surmise we can use that poisonous nature of his to rot his own team from within."
"And if that fails, we can just punch 'em!" Caspar grinned. The simplicity of it made everyone groan lowly.
"Okay." Byleth said, trying to get everyone back on track. "More importantly...I have a few ideas how to deal with the troubling roadblocks ahead of you. It's not going to be easy, but I know you have the ability to pull it off."
"Hm...I wonder where Constance and Yuri went to..." Edelgard mumbled to herself. She could tell things were a little quieter than usual.
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"So, those are my brilliant plans!" Claude said after explaining everything to the Golden Deer. They already knew Manuela was not going participate, so they had to come up with a strategy. "What do you think? Pretty good, right? I'd say so myself."
"Spare us." Lorenz was the first one to object. If anyone didn't trust Claude, it was most certainly Lorenz. "You say you have these plans, but what are the chances there are things you aren't telling us? This isn't a battle where we can rely solely on your schemes."
"Give the schemes a try, maybe you'll like them." Claude replied casually. "If you can't beat someone in a straight fight, you should do whatever you can to win. Battles aren't fair in war."
"Um..." Marianne wanted to say something to break up the argument, but far be it from her to have the strength to do that.
"Break it up already!" Lysithea groaned. "Can we come up with a real plan instead of whatever Claude is doing? I've been thinking..."
"Hey, the adults are talking." Claude said, giving Lysithea an annoying smile as he did so. She was about ready to blast him before Manuela intervened.
"That's enough, all of you." Manuela said with a stern tone. "All of this bickering is getting you nowhere. If you can't at least tolerate each other, then you don't have a chance as working as a unit. So start over." This was a demand as their teacher, and the students really couldn't say no.
"If you need any close fighting done, just leave it to me!" Raphael suggested, like a fight wasn't about to break out. "And then you can leave the long range stuff to Ignatz! You know how good with a bow he is!" The larger male said, roping his friend right into things.
"R-Right..." Ignatz said with an uncertain nod. "I'll definitely do my best for the class."
"M-Me too..." Marianne said quietly.
"Don't expect too much from me." Hilda quickly said. She didn't want anyone getting any ideas about her usefulness. "I'll do what I can, but it won't be much."
"You are useless." Lysithea snapped. Here they were, all trying to win! And here was Hilda just doing 'whatever'.
"I wouldn't put it so bluntly, but I agree." Leonie glared at Hilda.
"Ugh, fine. You want my suggestion?" Hilda rolled her eyes. Everyone was looking at her like some kind of villain for not doing her best! So she would at least contribute to shut everyone else up. "We look at the biggest threats and take them out, or something! It's that easy."
"It's that easy." Lysithea grumbled. "Don't pat yourself on the back for doing the bare minimum."
"But it's a start!" Claude could take this momentum and roll with it. Someone had to. "For example, don't fight Luke alone! He's not as big or strong as everyone else, but I can sense a scheme when I see one! That guy has been plotting all year. No doubt he's got his own tricks. Dimitri and Edelgard are no doubt the biggest threats on the field as well. We can't exclude them."
"I suggest we pair up." Lorenz said. "Two heads are better than one. And I. Lorenz Hellman Gloc-"
"Can it!" Lysithea didn't want to hear it. "Pairing up is a fine idea. At least this way, we'll have the advantage against anyone who tries to go solo. I can blast away just about anyone with my magic."
"I, um...apologize in advanced for whoever gets stuck with me..." Marianne said quietly.
"This is a good start." Manuela was getting a little worried at the Golden Deer so far. There was definitely a little bit of friction and tension in the air...but they were working through it slowly. "Now, where did Balthus go..."
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"I think you all have come up with a solid plan." Hanneman was proud of what the Blue Lions came up with.
"It is a shame you won't be able to join us." Dimitri said. "However, I will be certain that we claim victory."
"For anyone that needs healing, you know where to find me." Mercedes said sweetly.
"I'll be doing my best!" Annette balled her hands into fists. She was excited.
"I'll do my best too." Ashe said calmly. "I don't want to let anyone down."
"You can rely on me, Your Majesty." Dedue said with a curt nod.
"Be sure to watch me, ladies. Each person I take down will be for you." Sylvain winked to the ladies of the Blue Lions, but none of them gave positive receptions to it.
"Would you knock it off? This is serious." Felix said while staring at the blade on his hip. "I was hoping for a chance to cross swords with Professor Byleth. But I'll settle for her class's best."
"If you can get that far." Luke said. This did annoy Felix, but he wasn't going to bite on it. "Don't go underestimating anyone. I've been watching everyone fight for months now. There might be some things they can do that I haven't noticed. They can squeeze in anything within these last two days."
"We will have to do our best." Ingrid said. "The Black Eagles has strong combat potential, and who knows what Claude is thinking for the Golden Deer. We have our work cut out for us."
"We have the skills to overcome it! Besides, I've got some new tricks up my sleeve too." Luke said.
"Then I'll be counting on you." Dimitri told Luke with a smile, but Luke just grumbled at that.
"Leave the troublesome fighters to me, if nothing else." Luke said. "I know how they fight, so I can intercept them. But I'll be counting on you guys to back me up if something bad happens. That being said, I dunno if I can take someone like Edelgard in a fight...or Raphael."
"You can leave Edelgard to me." Dimitri said calmly. "Claude as well, if it comes to it. I know he is the type to avoid a battle that he knows he cannot win. In the end, if you are able to corner him, you should be able to prevail."
Of course the Boar would say something like that. "As long as we stick to the plan, we should be fine." Felix huffed.
"But we can't be afraid to adapt if things start going sour either!" Annette added. Flexibility was important in such a large scale battle as this.
"You can rely on me." Dedue replied.
"I'll be right there." Mercedes replied. "I think we can do this."
"Weird how Hapi isn't here..." Ashe commented. This was the last chance they'd have to plan. But they'd just have to do it without her if it came to it.
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All the planning came to an end, for the day finally arrived. The classes of the Black Eagles, Golden Deer, and Blue Lions gathered at Gronder Field, the sight of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. There was a large audience watching this classic mock battle as it was about to take place. No Professors were taking part in this battle, it was only the students, armed with their weapons and whatever plans they concocted before moment arrived. Since this battle was in his territory, the mighty Leopold von Bergliz was watching along with the others, Rhea, Jeralt, Byleth, Seteth, Manuela, and Hanneman included, arms crossed as he let out a small chuckle of excitement. "I never get tired of watching this."
"You all should know!" Dimitri said while extending his lance towards the Black Eagles and Golden Deer. "I have no intentions of going easy on you today!"
"As long as we can pull off the win, doesn't matter how." Claude replied. The only thing that mattered in this battle was a victory. Claude was certain to obtain it with the help of the Golden Deer.
Edelgard flipped her hair. "Our victory must be absolute. No matter what it may take."
"Wow...this is kinda nerve wracking..." Shez admitted quietly. But despite those nerves, she couldn't help the excitement bubbling within her as well.
"It is time!" Seteth exclaimed. Several horns blared out and a flag was raised to signify the start of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. With that call, all sides began to move.
Leopold watched the field curiously, his lips curling up into a knowing smirk. He could feel the tension and electricity in the air, before anyone even started fighting. "Oh, yeah. I can already tell...this is going to be a battle to remember."