The next few nights didn't offer much opportunity to continue the story of the Rising Sun Company. But eventually, they found an opportunity.

"How is your progress?" Edelgard asked.

"We're three days away from the Western Church," Dimitri said. "The camp is on alert in case they try a surprise attack, but I doubt they will be bold enough to leave their fortified city."

"I've hit a bit of a snag," Claude admitted. "There's been a bit of a disturbance at the Throat. It could just be a scuffle, Nader wanting to make sure Holst remembers him."

"But it might not have been," Rhea posited.

"Almyran succession laws don't necessarily have the eldest be the heir," Claude said. "That's how it is if the king dies without naming an heir, but he can name any of his children as his heir. Right now, Father hasn't officially named an heir, but my second-oldest brother Shahid might be thinking he could earn the favor of enough of the nobility by conquering Leicester that Father would have no choice but to name him his heir."

"This won't be a problem, will it?" Edelgard asked.

"Eh, if he is causing trouble, I'll just give him a whipping," Claude said, unbothered. "We Almyrans usually don't see defeat as shameful, but there is a limit. It shouldn't be too hard for me to humiliate him badly enough that his supporters will have second thoughts about backing him."

Dimitri's eyes narrowed. "Be careful, Claude. You may be able to destroy his dreams of glory and conquest, but he likely won't accept his loss with grace. Be prepared for him to seek revenge."

The good humor evaporated from Claude's face. "I know."

"Perhaps we should continue our story now?" Zelda asked.

"Of course," Edelgard said. "Unfortunately for us, Seiros being away from the battlefront did have consequences..."


Currently, the Rising Sun Company and some of the Adrestians were busy delivering supplies to a rather decrepit town that had been used to house refugees in Gloucester. Edelgard caught a rock one of the younger refugees had thrown at her. This was, what, the fifth one? It was to be expected to some degree that the locals wouldn't exactly offer up a warm welcome, but this was getting tiresome. Edelgard was already missing Hyrule, where she hadn't had to worry about this sort of thing.

At least Link was keeping up good cheer. After he had caught the first stone thrown at him, he asked that the children give him more, and had started juggling them. Shez had joined in, and now they had worked their way up to a two-man knife juggling act.

Zelda tilted her head as she stared at them. "I didn't know Link knew how to juggle."

"We are wasting our time here," Cato said dispassionately. "We ought to have passed this place by. No amount of our aid will do anything for these people."

"Have you no sympathy for these people? For the pain they have suffered?" Ferdinand asked, scandalized.

"None," Cato said. "If they want sympathy, they can seek it elsewhere. So they have suffered. How are they learning from it? How are they rising above it? This camp of ghosts and martyrs has stood in this place for eight years, and precious few of the wretches who have ended up here have done either. Most of these people will spend their entire lives wallowing in their own misery, and will never achieve anything of worth, only drag others who might otherwise be great down to their level."

Ferdinand opened his mouth to castigate the rogue Agarthan, but Zelda spoke first. "Ah. You're not really talking about the refugees, are you?"

"Both yes and no, Lady Zelda," Cato admitted. "The Agarthans will spend their years clinging to a golden age they don't truly remember until the sands of time bury them with it. But most of these refugees will also refuse to let go of what they've lost, instead remaining prisoners of their misery in perpetuity. Providing anything to make life better here only incentivizes the few who have potential to stay and do the same." With that, he walked off.

"I really want to know what his story is," Ferdinand said. "I sense there's more he hasn't told us."

Any potential speculation was cut off as a wyvern landed nearby, Cyril dismounting from its back. "Trouble. Nemesis is on his way."

That instantly caught their attention. "How close?"

"Six hours before his army arrives at Fort Eastwatch," Cyril said. "Maybe a bit longer if something happens to delay him."

"He definitely decided to attack now because Seiros was away," Edelgard realized. "She's the strongest warrior the Adrestian forces have, and one of the only ones who poses a legitimate threat to him."

"Does that mean we have a spy?" Ferdinand asked.

Cyril shook his head. "We've been marching through land that was enemy territory until about a week ago. It coulda been anyone who sent word to Nemesis."

"We'll just have to repel Nemesis's forces without her," Edelgard said.


As the enemy army crossed over the horizon into view, Zelda couldn't help but blanch. "There are so many of them."

"Most of them are just fodder," Leonie assured her. "As long as you don't get careless, the only threats on that battlefield are Nemesis, the Elites, the Demonic Beasts, and maybe some of the Tribunes."

Constance scanned the oncoming horde for a specific figure. "There's Nemesis. If we can eliminate him here, our job is half-done already." She placed her Mini-Slate back in its place in her Ancient Tech left gauntlet, then placed a Golden Gauntlet on her right hand.

"We shouldn't get tunnel vision," Indech, having joined them, said. "Are there any other Elites on the battlefield?"

"I don't see any sign of Goneril," Hubert said. "But Charon and Daphnel are both here. And Thales and Nicodemus are here too. Thankfully, it appears Epimenides is not present."

"Leonie and I will handle Daphnel," Lorenz said confidently.

"I can face Nicodemus," Hubert volunteered. "I have faced him more than a few times over the course of this war."

"Thales is mine," Cato growled, his eyes daring anyone to challenge him on that. Edelgard wanted to, and she could feel Lysithea wanting to as well, but they both stayed silent. The Rising Sun Company would need all the muscle it could muster to defeat Nemesis.

"Do you think you and your friends can face Nemesis?" Indech asked Link.

"I don't know," Link admitted. "I fought Nemesis before, and he was no pushover. But with Seiros not here, we're the ones with the best chance of taking him down."

"Then I will face Charon," Indech agreed.

As the enemy army marched closer, the Rising Sun members moved themselves to positions that would hopefully bring them close to their chosen targets when the armies finally clashed.

There were plenty of dangerous targets in the enemy army besides the commanders. But the same could be said for the Adrestian army. The most striking of the bunch were probably the eight massive golems, built by those among the Nabateans and their spouses who were more scribes and smiths than warriors (not that there was a single survivor of the Red Canyon who couldn't fight if they had to). And these were the warriors that made the first strike in this battle, throwing lances of deadly light into the enemy army, breaking their formation and killing at least one Demonic Beast before it could get close. Fire Orbs and ballistae also picked off some of the enemy, but not nearly enough to stop their advance. Eventually, the enemy reached the effective range of archers and mages, then melee combatants, and the Reaper began his harvest in earnest.