—Edelgard
Beyond Escape is the thirteenth chapter of Crimson Flower for players who chose to lead the Black Eagles and chose to side with Edelgard.
Story[]
A mysterious voice urges Byleth to wake from slumber. When Byleth awakes, they find themselves in a village near the base of Garreg Mach Monastery. A villager answers Byleth's questions and tells them that they it is the Etheral Moon of the year 1185 and the day before the Millennium Festival. Byleth sets out for the monastery despite the villager's warnings about the Imperial army being there. Inside the monastery, Byleth runs into Edelgard. Edelgard is shocked and relieved to see her former mentor is still alive and hugs them, while also telling them that her resolve to bring down Rhea has not faltered. After bringing Byleth up to speed about her stalemate in the war against the Church of Seiros, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the Leicester Alliance, she reintroduces Byleth to the former Black Eagle students that are now part of the Strike Force, all of them happy to see their former mentor again. Edelgard and Hubert then explain their next objective: to eliminate the Leicester Alliance (so that there is one less enemy to fight) by conquering House Riegan's capital, Derdriu (aka the Aquatic Capital). In order to get to cross the Airimid River, the Empire must take the Great Bridge of Myridin to gain an efficient entry point into the Alliance.
Initial enemies[]
- Judith L36 w/ Rapier
- 8 Brawlers L34 w/ Silver Gauntlets
- 4 Archers L34 w/ Steel Bow
- 4 Cavaliers L34 w/ Silver Lance
- 4 Grapplers L34 w/ Steel Gauntlets
- 3 Fortress Knights L34 w/ Silver Axe
- 3 Warriors L34 w/ Silver Axe
- 2 Snipers L34 w/ Steel Bow
- 1 Armored Knight L34 w/ Silver Axe
- Ignatz (if not recruited)/1 Sniper L35 w/ Brave Bow
Reinforcements[]
Maddening[]
- Turn 5, from the North-East
- Acheron L35 w/ Silver Lance
- 4 Cavalier L34 w/ Iron Lance
- 2 Paladin L34 w/ Silver Lance
- Turn 5, from the North-West
- Leonie (if not recruited)/1 Paladin L35 w/ Silver Lance
- 3 Sniper L34 w/ Steel Bow
- 2 Wyvern Rider L34 w/ Steel Axe
The North-East reinforcements will leave once you kill Leonie/the Paladin.
Items[]
Chests[]
Goddess Icon (North) Bow of Zoltan (South)
Drops[]
Strategy[]
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Edelgard has just been handed her personal weapon, Aymr. Its exclusive Combat Art, Raging Storm, is effectively an on-command Galeforce. However, unlike other Relic weapons, Aymr uses the rare Agarthium to repair, so don't go wasting it when you don't need to. Unless you've found some Giant Crawlers in auxiliary battles, Chapter 16 will be your ONLY opportunity to restock!
The first battle post-time skip is a great introduction to what can be expected for the remainder of the Black Eagles playthrough. Positioning on the map, using obstacles, and gambit/attack boosts are essential. You will also have future maps where your characters are 5-10 levels lower than the enemy.
The north squad of four has only a few objectives: secure the ballista, raid the chest, and kill the two Grapplers as well as the two Paladins closest to the bridge. If you happen to have Lysithea and she has the Warp spell, you can use this to Warp a strong character to the nearest Grappler (such as Jeritza) and if he does not finish him off move Petra to the ballista to finish him off. Be careful not to have Jeritza within the attack range of too many enemies.
For your squad to the south, immediately use Stride and then focus on either the northern or the southern group of enemies (consisting of a Paladin, Warrior, and Grappler). Use the obstacle (rubble?) in the middle of these two groups as a wall to either the left or right of your team (for context, I went after the southernmost group first). Using the right combination of skills, you should be able to take out two of the three, use Encloser (Bernadetta) on the enemy you weren't able to kill, and then use Impregnable Wall on the group near the rubble. If done correctly, the group you didn't fight will have to travel around the middle obstacle to get to your squad while being outside of attack range for any of your personnel that does not have Impregnable Wall active. The Fortress Knights in the central area along with any enemies within range will attack the Impregnable Wall group while the remainder of your squad is out of range. This may take a few turns to get the positioning correct so use Divine Pulse as needed. This will complete turn one.
For the next two turns, continue to have the northern group take out the remaining Grappler and two Paladins (one of these Paladins may break off and head towards the group to the south) and if you have Lysithea on hand, keep her near Jeritza so you can use Warp soon. The group to the south should take out the remaining surrounding enemies while using Edelgard as a tank and/or Impregnable Wall to aggro the archers towards your squad. Stay out of range of Ignatz/Brave Bow Sniper for now unless an Impregnable Wall character can safely draw him out. Do not forget about attack gambits, Banshee (Hubert), and Encloser (Bernadetta) if you have an enemy that has too many hit points to finish off in one turn.
On turn four, its time to begin our approach towards Judith, Ignatz, and to claim the chest to the south. If you have still have some straggler enemies left on turn four and need another turn before approaching Judith, make sure you take them out on this turn or use Banshee and gambits while moving your squad closer to Judith. Igntaz/Brave Bow Sniper should be killed by the end of turn four. One hit from Sublime Heaven will usually do the trick but if not, you can use movement combat abilities (Reposition, Draw Back) to move Byleth back and bring in another character to finish Ignatz off. Beware Judith's Rapier when doing this as it does bonus damage to heavy armor and cavalry units. Additionally on turn four, make sure to have the character with the chest key getting closer to the chest or at least be near the unit that has Stride or Warp (Linhardt most likely).
At the beginning of turn five, reinforcements will appear to the northwest and northeast. You can ignore them, loot the chest to the south for a Bow of Zoltan, move your characters within attack range of Judith for an attack/gambit boost, and then finish her off with a combo of Sublime Heaven and any bow attack from Bernadetta. Five turns is tight but think of this map as a preview of the maps to come. The positioning of your army, the underrated movement Combat Arts, Warp, and Impregnable Wall will make victory possible.
A final tip for the remaining maps is to use stat boosting items on your character's strengths with the exception of Luck boosting items as they should go to characters with low luck so as to reduce the chances of an unlucky critical hit.