Nightmare Fuel / Lord Marksman and Vanadis

This page contains unmarked spoilers. You Have Been Warned!

What will you think is going to happen when one of seven brave War Maiden ends up becoming an enemy's prisoner of war?^note Fortunately, she is rescued before suffering a Fate Worse than Death.

Lord Marksman and Vanadis does tackle some very serious subject matters even for a romantic light novel series... it isn't a series about war and demons for nothing...

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First Saga

• The Battle of Dinant. Eleonora Viltaria leads her army into slaughtering hundreds, if not thousands of Brunish soldiers, and nothing's able to stop her since they underestimated her strength. The aftermath of Elen's assault isn't any better. Despite being the Sole Survivor, Tigrevurmud Vorn's stuck in a helpless situation where he is not only unable to see his allies ^note Allies such as Bertrand, Mashas and Zion were the lucky few who managed to escape from the Dinant Plains.anywhere, but he also survived while escaping from Elen's army: He had to kill a scout soldier who found him, then the horses of the two soldiers (one of which is Limalisha) who were riding beside Elen, and eventually attempt to assassinate the War Maiden herself as his Last Stand. That is short-lived however, as Elen deflects his last two arrow shots and eventually cornering him and has him becoming her POW, something that is rarely done by any War Maiden, at least according to Lim.
  • Not only the Brune Army's defeat has its only survivor as Zhcted's hostage, but the supposed death^note In the midst of the chaos, Regin was able to flee to Agnus along with her maid Jeanne who unfortunately perished during the escape, courtesy of the assassins sent by Ganelon. of Prince Regnas, who is Princess Regin in disguise, giving a fatal blow to Brune. King Faron is so devastated to hear such news that he withdrawing himself from politics and holed himself up in his bedroom. That alone further paving the tyrannical path of Thenardier and Ganelon for dominating the kingdom, and eventually kickstarting Brune's brutal civil war.
• The infamy of Duke Thenardier and Duke Ganelon is this: Ganelon of Lutetia was notorious for his greed by imposing heavy taxes onto his citizens without King Faron's consent; Thenardier of Nemetacum, on the other hand, whose method is so oppressive and brutal that even his soldiers are afraid of him. In other words, they are very, very bad people and yet Brune citizen just see this as an everyday norm. Even if there's a handful of few nobles (such as Tigre and Mashas) see the problem, they are helpless to do anything because the two are King Faron's closest relative by marriage, meaning they can get away from their crime so easily. King Faron's worsening illness and overwhelming grief over his supposed "dead" heir only further worsen Brune's affairs and paving the two Duke's paths for their power and ambition, staring with Thenardier plan in crushing Alsace after Tigre is captured as Elen's POW.
• Zion and his army's atrocious attack on Alsace:
  • Alsace is under fire from the invading Zion Army who loot, destroy and outright kill those who trying to escape. Luckily for the citizens however, most of them (especially healthier ones) were already evacuated to nearby wilderness and/or villages long before Zion Army's arrival while the rest sought refuge inside the local shrine, something not even Thenardier dare to touch. That however doesn't even stop Zion from keep attacking Alsace as he later finds it boring and decides to visit Vorn Manor before razing it to the ground.
  • Titta's Near-Rape Experience from Zion. While she is watching Alsace's near destruction, she, being the only person who stayed at Vorn Manor at the time, had to confront Zion who is viciously taunting her about Tigre while chasing after her to the balcony. Titta tries to defend herself with her knife, only to be subdued by Zion with absolutely no hesitation and have her uniform nearly destroyed, with the Black Bow pinned atop of her. If it wasn't for Tigre firing his arrow to pierce Zion's hand and the Leitmeritz army's arrival, Titta and Alsace would become yet another victim to Thenardier's atrocities.
  • The worst part is the idea of attack onto Alsace isn't just Thenardier alone. Apparently, Ganelon also thought about this and even deployed his own army to the said location. OK, having one tyrannical Duke's son to attack one village is already bad enough, but to see another tyrant attempt on attacking Alsace is outright horrific, makes you wonder if Tigre's hometown will turn into dust if Ganelon Army joins the fray! The only reason why Ganelon Army leave Alsace alone is because of Mashas's intervention right before they even reach to their destination. Even Thenardier—during his final confrontation against Tigre—lampshades that even if his army wouldn't attack Alsace, Ganelon will attack it sooner or later and the effect could be much, much worst than his son's.
• Some moments during the Battle of Molsheim has these, especially:
  • In the opening battle, everything seems to be fine for Tigre, Elen and others until they stumble upon Suro, the Earth Dragon that belonged to Zion Army that crushing anyone near it. Oh, aside from its hardest shell, every body parts including its eyes are as hard as a diamond, as Tigre finds out. Fortunately for Elen, only a Ley Admos is enough to stop it.
  • Zion's reason in attacking Alsace is this, whether it's from his father's order or his personal grudge against Tigre. When confronted by Tigre about the incident of Alsace as his retort against the former's accusation for "betraying" Brune for Zhcted, he claims that peasants who are beneath him are merely plants that can be cut down anytime he wants. This attitude itself indicating the depth of House Thenardier's cruelty goes so far that even Elen — an outsider from Zhcted no less — loathes him as a Sore Loser.
  • While the heroes are celebrating their win, the retreating Zion Army's soldiers are punished heavily instead.
• The assassination attempt from the Seven Chain Assassins ^note Also known as the Serrash. to the groups of heroes. Regardless which adaptation's timeline ^note Unlike the Light Novel or Manga, the Anime adaptation set this incident happens before the heroes reach to Rodrick instead of after. you follow, the location of the incident take place is the same: a small shortcut route that is located in the forest between Rodrick and Leitmeritz. The group of heroes seemly doing fine until Lim is poisoned by one of the assassins's snake. Elen is shocked in horror to see her friend's dire position, and Tigre had to suck out the poison from her right breast (no really, but for good reasons). When that happens, the assassins attempt to retaliate only to be slaughtered by Mila's Cielo Zam Kafa that exterminate the six assassins, except one who has already slipped away without anyone notice. Not helping matters is Mila denouncing Elen about her worthiness as a war maiden for even worrying about Lim's condition while ignoring Tigre's gratitude and leaving the scene. Wow.
  • Remember the last assassin who barely escaped from Mila's devastating attack? He is back and he blends himself into a crowd of Leitmeritz Army's soldiers during the Siege of Tatra, and none of them are any wiser. That's right, not even Mila is aware an unexpected "guest" from the enemy ranks! Not to mention he attempts to take the two war maidens out before being assassinated by Tigre who makes it just in time before the two meet their untimely demise.
• Roland, a no-nonsense leader of the Navarre Knights and Brune's bravest hero who pledged his loyalty to his home kingdom. Just because this guy values justice and honor doesn't mean he plays nice and he certainly won't hesitate in cutting down his enemies, especially those who threaten Brune's safety. Not to mention his elite brigade is renowned as the strongest army of Brune and they answer only to their king without any question.
  • The Sachstein army is the first example of Roland's victim. Yes, for years, Sachstein has tried many times in invading Brune through the western boarders between them, and that is not even the whole army. The result? Most of them were slaughtered and outwitted by Roland and his elite brigade within a flash, leaving no survivors and held no prisoners. His death, however, somehow gives Sachstein another chance to invade Brune again.
  • Not even Zhcted's best war maidens are capable enough to beat Roland. Besides from being viewed as yet another invader threatening Brune, the very fact of the Durandal's properties that nullifying magic powers make him extremely dangerous for the female warriors. Elen initially almost learns Roland's prowess the hard way when Arifar's winds didn't work against him and she had to struggle during their duel before Tigre's rescue. Hell, he even easily breaks through Sofy's hardest light shield-one that repels the entire Navarre Knights, mind you-like a glass and forcing her to retreat after their first duel! You think a teamwork from both Elen and Sofy should be able to defeat Roland, right? The good news is, their combination powers did inflicting him some damage, but the bad news is not even that can put him down! How do you suppose to beat this guy when even the war maidens can't?
• Marquis Charon Anquetil Greast. How do you even describe this guy? A loyal follower of Duke Ganelon? Check. Having a creepy obsession towards Elen over her victory at Dinant Plains? Check. Mocking Tigre while pressuring Elen to join him instead? Check. Nearly encouraging, no, more like demanding the Silver Meteor Army to commit atrocities under his lord's name? Check. Giving Tigre an ultimatum in hastening his decision when the young Count is about to "rethink" the alliance? Check. Immediately attack the Silver Meteor Army right after the latte's rejection while attempting in capturing Elen? Do we even really need to expand his villainy even more? Oh, did we forget to mention that he is also an inventor of his numerous torture devices?
  • Speaking of Greast's torment devices, most of them are used for two purposes: punishment for those who failed Ganelon's expectation or just for his sadistic entertainment, which the latter is more awful than the former. We have the one that drowns people while standing, one that leave them stung by swarms of bees in a room until they die, and the one that burns him alive while wearing a set of hot armor. Whoever caught up into one of these devices surely not going to leave the torture alive or unscathed to tell the horrors...
• The moment Tigre is falsely accused as a "traitor" to his own kingdom under Prime Minister Pierre Badouin's declaration is the darkest day in his life. Consequently, not only his title will be revoked Alsace will be govern by one of Nice's ministers once the civil war is subsided. This means Tigre cannot go back to Alsace and his people anymore, and the worst part is he becoming a marked man by almost everybody in Brune! Sure, this is coming from Sofy's message, but Tigre is the one who ends up receiving this shocking message since he is now portrayed as villain just to enlisting an "enemy" from Zhcted and defended his own territory from his fellow Brunish soldier, who happened to be a son to one of the most oppressive Duke! It is made painfully clear that injustice within Brune worsen as the civil war still ongoing...
• Speaking of ongoing civil war, the situation in Brune is so chaotic that even Nice—the capital city of Brune—has becoming the most dangerous place. How dangerous? Mashas will surely going to tell you,
  • We get to see how dreadful King Faron has become since Regin's assumed demise at Dinant Plains. According to Badouin, who let Mashas in out of their friendship, the king's condition was so bad that he becoming skinnier, aged quicker, and not to mentioned mind broken to the point he's playing wooden block.
  • What could be worse is when Mashas is surrounded by the assassins inside the palace! Be it Thenardier or Ganelon, whoever sent these assassins surely wants Mashas dead, which also means leaving Tigre without his reliable mentor and ally. Thankfully, Sofy—who just happened to be passing by—rescued Mashas from what could've been his demise.
• Two parts of the Battle of Orange featuring gruesome battles between the Silver Meteor Army and the Navarre Knights.
  • The first battle is like a slaughter fest when Silver Meteor Army is ill-prepared for the brutality from Roland and his brigade gave them, including their two commanders: Elen is struggling against the Black Knight because her Arifar's wind barely even scratches him, Tigre meanwhile is severely injured from the Durandal's slash despite successfully rescues Elen, temporarily immobilizes Roland by killing his horse with a creative way. Even both Elen's and Tigre's escape have becoming a problem as the Navarre Knights literary throwing a rain of Javelins at them just to prevent their escape! Hadn't for Sofy's rescue and the arrival of Mashas and his men, the Silver Meteor Army would be done for.
    • Even before the battle itself, the four aristocrats, who are the Silver Meteor Army's supporters, are already against Tigre's and his allies idea in retaliate against the Navarre Knights out of fear that symbolizing their rebellion against the king himself.
  • The second battle isn't exactly a right start for the Silver Meteor Army either. You'd think with Sofy and Mashas around things would've been better, right? Well, problem is the Navarre Knights has an amazing yet deadly formation that decimates the first Silver Meteor Army's cavalry army, and from there on more soldiers will die while enduring the enemy's relentless attacks. And that is before Roland even being lured out from the battlefield! Granted, the Silver Meteor Army did eventually turn the tide by using Hughes' suggested mud trap and after Roland's surrender, breaking the Navarre Knight's long unbroken winning streak, it still require some sacrifices in order to make the plan worked....
• Tir Na Fal Temple is both mysterious and ominous as it looks. First of all, it can appears (and disappears) as long the energy of the Black Bow resonates. Second, the only way to actually access the temple is having the Black Bow at his side, meaning Tigre and/or anyone who are close to him are the only visitor. Third and not least, this is a temple that worship the Goddess herself, who represents the Darkness and Death among ten Brunish Gods! Do you really think that it is a nice place to visit with this spooky name? Also, while the interior may not have any booby traps and monsters lurking around, you gotta feel that it's pitch black inside and it requires the light from the Black Bow in order to navigate even one partial of the area!
• Titta is this when she is possessed by Tir Na Fal! As Tigre asks Goddess some questions, that said Goddess uses Titta as her medium to communicate with Tigre, thus Titta's personality has becoming...not normal. Yes, the possessed Titta is exactly opposite from the normal Titta who we know as a meek girl rather than a vulgar counterpart.
  • Freeing Titta from the Goddess's possession isn't exactly like a walk in a park either. How? You see, Tir Na Fal is testing Tigre's worth in yielding the Black Bow's power and demands him to shoot his arrow at his possessed maid in order to prove himself. The catch? Not even the Goddess herself can guarantee Titta's survival. If you put yourself into Tigre's shoes, you'll be worry too because not only you need to save your maid, but you also have to concern the Silver Meteor Army's near annihilation as well. Thankfully, the arrow shot only strips Titta, not kill her.
• Roland's death when he's trapped inside the Bee Room set up by Ganelon while being stung to death, and still standing! In fact, his death is so horrific that even Thenardier of all people calls Ganelon out for murdering their best warrior of Brune, of which the latter brushed it off instead because he did it just for kicks. This makes Tigre's chance in proving his innocence much slimmer and putting Brune in a even more vulnerable position in fending off against foreign invaders in the future, such as the likes of the Muozinel and Sachstein armies.
  • Even before his death, Roland's decision in returning to Nice itself is shocking. In spite Tigre's and Mashas's warning that returning to the capital may not be a good idea now, considering the latter had experienced near assassination, Roland insists on returning to Nice as his rectification for Brune's injustice. Sure its an honorable thing to do, but in this chaotic times not everyone in Brune has as much honor and justice as Roland did, so returning Nice is basically a suicide!
• The Muozinel army's first introduction as the whole. This invading army from the South East is notoriously known for its brutality and aggressiveness in any battlefield, all the while picking anyone as their slaves. Most soldiers are wearing intimidating masks, arms with sword and shield, and they will going to loot, destroy and enslave anyone who is "fitted" as slaves, including women and children. Those who defy the invader shall suffer horrendous consequences. Let's start with Kashim and his soldiers, shall we?
  • Kashim's methods in provoking the Silver Meteor Army by ordering his first ten male prisoners to be beheaded, which he did, and the women are next in line if they refuse to come out. Needless to say, Brunish side of the Silver Meteor Army ain't going to sit down and going directly to confront Kashim and his soldiers directly until Ryurik leads the Zhctedi reinforcements to squash the invaders. Fortunately, karma does eventually catch up to Kashim big time when he is shot dead by Tigre.
  • To make matters worse, Gerard receiving news that Kashim's Army was merely an Advance Army, which means the main unit would be much larger than they thought and it's heading for their way as they speak. Considering their depleting supplies and injured soldiers, the only option left is to retreat. Sounds safe, right? The thing is however, the freed Agnes civilians are too exhausted to move on which slowing down the evacuation progress. Worse yet is the Muozinel Army's pursuing unit is chasing after the fleeing survivors with a faster rate, forcing Tigre to lead his archer unit to buy their escape until Mila and her army from Olmütz save the day.
• The Battle of Ormea itself featuring the Silver Meteor Army's (aided by the Olmütz Army) struggle against Muozinel Army's main unit. The overwhelming numbers of injured solders, depleting supplies and more refugees is one thing, but the Silver Meteor Army had to face an opponent that is Kureys Shahim Balamir, brother of the Muozinellian King and the cunning general who once defeated Sachstein's 1,000 naval army with just 200 men!
• Even after Muozinel Army had to retreat and Regin's sudden, the only enemies remains are none other than Thenardier and Ganelon who have their own preparations as their "last stand". Here is what they did,
  • While assembling his troops, Thenardier receives five dragons from Drekavac where the two are well-equipped with magical chains, which according to the latter, they have magical properties that nullifying Dragon Weapon's elemental powers which making the supposed invincible war maidens helpless against these mighty creature. This somehow risen Thenardier's confidence so much that he
    • The anime took even a grimmer lever where Thenardier smirks as if he finally able to kill the war maidens once and for all.
• The Battle of Montauban display a grizzly effect when two infamous forces are fighting against each other, and whoever wins everybody suffers. The battle itself is one-sided Curb-Stomp Battle for Thenardier Army against the helpless Ganelon Army thanks to the former's five dragons, and the latter's remnant soldiers are either slaughtered or had to flee elsewhere. Even worse is the reason behind Ganelon Army's defeat is because the commanders themselves have already fled by the time this battle took place, leaving these poor soldiers to fend off themselves without a leader. But that is not even the worst part....
  • The burning of Lutetia's capital Artishem is part of Ganelon's plan for his escape from Brune. Here, after his defeat he pretended becoming "crazy" and literary burning his own capital city into the ground! With poor people who considered the place home! In fact, Artishem's situation is so terrible that the Silver Meteor Army has to hasten their journey for Lutetia immediately even though they will be fighting against Thenardier Army at Vincennes Plains along the way.
• The Battle of Vincennes may features the coolest showdown between the war maidens against five dragons, it certainly not without any tension.
  • While the first three Earth Dragons are easy as pie, the following two are challenging because 1) the two-headed dragon have a most durable scales where Arifar's blade can't even scratch it, let alone hurt it, and 2) these two dragons are protected by some magical chains and their properties can nullifying all Dragon Weapon's elemental powers! Needless to say, both Elen and Mila are shocked to see this and they had to think another way to slay the dragons.
    • Speaking of which, Elen jumps onto Mila—who is so stunned about how ineffective her powers against the dragons with the chains—while protecting her from the Fire Dragon's fire! The result? She got burned at the back for the rescue! Mila is so mortified by this that she drags Elen out from the battlefield and heals her immediately!
  • Things doesn't goes well for Tigre's side either. According to one of Mashas' men, there are two Viscount ranked officers are plotting in betraying the Silver Meteor Army and defect for the Thenardier Army, taking their 500 soldiers with them. Fortunately, Tigre have the traitors to be executed for their treachery, which shows us that even the Silver Meteor Army will not tolerate traitors.
• Duke Thenardier's origins and upbringing explain what he is today with a violent detail. According to the backstory, his House's practice of Might makes Right was motivating Thenardier in his path of hegemony by not only increasing his knowledge and skill, but also massacring his own brothers during a dispute for Nemetacum's dukedom.
  • The manga version take a more sympathetic turn where the the young Thenardier was once a bully target from even his own brothers.
• Tigre's Roaring Rampage of Revenge against Thenardier in their final showdown. It becomes so personal for our hero that he literary want destroy his rival by supposedly attenpting to unleash the Black Bow's true power. Regardless of the adaptation, fortunately Elen snaps him out by punching him in the face and telling him not to be intoxicated by revenge.
  • The anime displays that by the time Tigre grasp the Black Bow's power, his eyes glows Crimson Amber of all colors while muttering his desire for more power, with an image about a destroyed castle.
  • The manga takes even more scarier approach where the motivation of Tigre's blood-lust are caused by numerous flashback images of some characters from previous chapters that appears in Tigre's memories, usually sorrow and anger: Titta's near rape experience from Zion? Greast? Roland? Unnamed Agnes little girl he saved? Kureys? Steid? even a dying Bertrand? As well as Tir Na Fal's temptation in offering him the Black Bow's true power? All of these enough to tick Tigre off and raise his blood-lust.
• While Tigre and co. are celebrating their victory after Brune's civil war is over, Ganelon and Greast are already heading towards Brune's northern port and seek refuge in Zhcted. What's more, Tina of all people escorts them to Osterode as their asylum. Yes, you read it right, one of the war maidens from Zhcted is actually helping a villain in hiding at her own turf. Makes you begin to wonder how'd they even becoming friends.
  • The manga adaptation have Greast replaced with Drekavac and Vodyanoy who talking with Ganelon about their twisted goals in bringing chaos into the human realm.

Second Saga

• Asvarre Civil War. Big time. Not long after Brune's restoration from its civil war after Ganelon's escape and Thenardier's demise, Asvarre is next to suffer its civil discord when Prince Germaine condemned his siblings for "betraying" the kingdom and have all of them executed. Of all the siblings of Asvarre Nobility that has been perished, only Eliot and Guinevere have escaped from the massacre. As retaliation, Eliot forming his Pirate Army and drove Germaine out from Colchester which opting the later fortified his remaining forces at Valverde; Guinevere meanwhile declared neutrality and refused to aid any one of her siblings. Talk about taking sibling rivalry to the extreme.
• Everything about Torbalan is this, both his human and demon form.
• Sofy's position as a prisoner under Eliot and his Pirate Army possibly gives you an idea what if a War Maiden is in deep trouble. She is chained and locked in a prison cell, her Zaht is nowhere to be found, and she almost left vulnerable against her would be rapists in the ship. And her confrontation with Eliot ain't fare any better. You see, the only reason why Eliot saves Sofy by killing even his own men is supposedly want to impress the lady, which she obviously not, and trying to make sure the "shipment" is safe until he meeting with Muozinel merchant. This is all for the supplies he need for his army in order to defeat his enemies. In short, a war maiden is about to be sold as slave!
• The prelude to the Battle of Olsina between Lebus-Legnica Navy Army vs. the invading pirates at the open seas. First of all, Sasha had return from her retirement after hearing Tigre's disappearance from in order to stop Torbalan and his pirate crew. Keep in mind that this monster is responsible for Tigre's disappearance during their journey from Asvarre, not to mention Sasha herself has just recovered from her own illness. Secondly, instead of Elen, Sasha enlists Liza of all people to aid her defense against the invading pirates. That's right, the same war maiden who led an army in invading Legnica just to lure Elen for her. And third and lastly, Sasha herself volunteers to fend off the Pirate Army against even her own men's protests out of her own safety and well being! Suffice to say that her first and last comeback as a war maiden is a short-lived and tragic one....
  • And the battle itself doesn't fare any better either. Not only have the Legnica naval forces nearly lost half of its main army, with dead sailors and destroyed ships everywhere, even the combination of both Sasha and Liza aren't enough to take Torbalan down, just like Roland against Elen and Sofy. What's worse is that Torbalan almost becoming a Hero Killer when he manages to inflict some injury onto Sasha who risks own life in rescuing Liza! Sure, Sasha is able to turn the tide via her Heroic Second Wind in slaying Torbalan in the progress, but to see a crippling legend who barely comes back from her illness being injured by this monster is outright disheartening. Its is a horrific price to pay for that victory indeed....
• Do not, under any circumstances, make Elizaveta Fomina angry, especially when she sees the only person who cares for her being robbed away. Ryurik learns this the hard way when he tries to convince Urs as the missing Tigre. Liza responds by angrily yelling at him to the point that she gives him a Death Glare to make him back off.
• Literally every ghost from Liza past that are created by Baba Yaga. Sure, they're illusions and they aren't real, and Liza herself is aware of this, but these are the things happened in Liza's life and trying to mess with her head. We have her childhood bullies who ridiculed her Rainbow Eyes, then Elen who begrudged her over the burning village, and finally a zombiefied Rodion who even demands her to avenge him. Liza is able to shake them off but with a lot of courage to actually pull herself through the situation.
  • The real kicker is these illusions are Baba Yaga's tactics to confuse Liza while ambushing her from above the moment she clear her mind, and she succeeded! Its bad enough to see Liza's right arm being crippled after Baba Yaga stripped her powers and losing Urs/Tigre during the chaos, but she had to face her worst nightmare that's about to kill her. Luckily for Liza, she is rescued by Urs/Tigre who narrowly rescues her in a nick of time. But, oh no, because this rematch against the witch is only the beginning....

Third Saga

• The sudden disappearance of Durandal via thievery is this. Durandal, Brune's iconic weapon of power that once held by the former Brunish Kings (Faron included) and Roland, which is also now at the hands of Regin as a representation of her political power, is ended up stolen by unknown thieves who were hired by the returning Greast. That aside, the disappearance of Durandal also puts Regin's reign in danger when nearly some Brune's ministers, specifically Melisande's supporters, are doubting her rule and trying to topple her down by all means necessary. Hard to believe to see Brune's peace shatters instantly over one missing sword...
• One the other side, Sachstein resumes its invasion towards Brune after the deaths of Roland, Thenardier and Faron. What's worse is the invasion itself is personally invited by Melisande who plans to topple her own cousin for the crown. Sachstein has been trying to invade Brune but ultimately failed so many times in the past, and Brune's latest chaos just give them a cause to invade their neighboring kingdom at last! Talk about taking the enemies' vulnerability to their advantage.
  • Not helping matters is the Brune army, despite the aid of the Navarre Knights still either powerless before the invaders' might and cunning, giving them to suffer yet another humiliating defeat since the Dinant Plains. Needless to say, the villagers and townspeople in Brune are the first to suffer from Sachstein's invasion.
• Meanwhile, Kureys see Brune's chaos as yet another opportunity in invading Brune once again for the third time. Keep in mind the only reason why he cancelled the supposed second invasion against Brune is because of Tigre's disappearance in Asvarre Seas.
• Tina's suggestion in repelling against Sachstein Army is anything but noble. Yes, she of all people is ordered by King Viktor to help Tigre in defending Brune from the invading Sachstein Army, but that doesn't mean she really helping Tigre in fending off the enemies. In fact, the only reason she "helped" Tigre is not only because of King Viktor's suspicions to her agenda, but also her desire to see the Black Bow's power.
  • Her presence isn't welcomed by Elen and Lim, as the former suspects her motive with Tigre.
  • She vile suggestion surfaces again in one meeting before battling against the remaining Sachstein army at Prowirl Plains. In order to truly defeat the invaders, Tina suggests to poisoning the nearby river just to cripple the enemy supplies, which unfortunately also affecting the villagers who depend these waters too. Needless to say, considering what happened during Melisande's revolt, everyone is so mortified to hear this plan to the point even Mashas questioning her agenda towards Brune. Tina's response? She doesn't even care! Thankfully, this plot is quickly scrapped and replaced with Tigre's fire plot that is work on Hans's army instead.
• Elen's imprisonment by Greast. Its a horrendous experience. The chain that lock her up isn't just an ordinary chain you see, its a magical chain it that prevents her from summoning Arifar. That's right, folks. That's the same chain that gave both Elen and Mila some trouble for having their Dragon Tool's powers nullified during their battle against Thenardier's dragons! What come next is a twisted greeting from Greast himself who is touching Elen's body against her will, except the kissing and... taking her virginity part, initially. Instead, he will try to invoke an Attempted Rape on her so he can break Elen and Tigre at once at Vernon Mansion with absolutely no hesitation. In short, Greast will make Elen her woman no matter what.
  • If you think that rouge Marquis is bad enough, how about his men who wish to get their hands on her for killing their comrades? Why are they refrained to do such a thing? Well it turns out that Greast warned them that he will execute anyone besides him and the little girl who get even close to Elen's barrack! And she had to endure her nightmarish 10 days of torture until Tigre and Mila arrive to the scene! Hadn't Tigre and Mila arrive just in time to free her, Elen's fate could much, much worse than death.
  • Even more uncomfortable part is the fact that how many women fell victim to the hand of this malicious man. According to Greast, many women he raped end up submitting to him without fighting back. For Elen's case however, he find her "special" for not only because of her position as one of seven Zhcted's renowned female warrior, but also her resistant against him even in her troubled position. You'd ought to wonder if Elen will able to get through her humiliation and trauma for a long time if, again, Tigre and Mila did not arrive just in time to save her from Greast and his soldiers.
• The unholy alliance between Ganelon and the demons itself can catch readers off guard.
• We get to see a revelation behind the Villainous Friendship between Tina and Ganelon from the former's perspective. According to her backstory, in order to improve Osterode's prosperity, Tina had to travel all the way to Lutetia and sought Ganelon as her trade partner, despite the fact that Ezendeis (Tina's Dragon Tool) sensed something ominous within that said "trade partner". Probably got you even wondering that Tina's reason in aiding Ganelon's escape from Brune was to repay his "contribution" for Osterode's prosperity.
• Muozinel's war slaves as the whole. Unlike most slaves, these captured prisoners will be joining the battle alongside with Muozinel Army's soldiers and general and often seen marching on the front lines. Not only the slaves' wages are much lower than that of an average soldiers by comparison, but they will also be forced to sacrifice themselves as Muozinel Army's human shields just in case if situation goes sour for the army. Either way, you'd feel sorry for these poor people whose life are destined to get worsen by day once they are at the hands of death from Muozinel's cruelty.
  • What's worse is the war slaves can be anybody, including high-ranking officers and their families: The three mayors, who were one of many Melisande's former allies, learn this the hard way when they seek Kureys for help in yet another attempt in removing Regin, only to be enslaved along with their family for their troubles. This also shows that Kureys, as cunning as he can be, even he can't tolerate greedy traitors.
• The entire scenery of the destruction of Brune's villages and town that is ransacked by the Sachstein and Greast armies is pretty dark to the point even Damad of all people can't helped but to feel sorry for the victims of the destruction.]]
• Greast's downfall and demise as a whole, and it is ironically because of one woman he obsessed so much.
  • Even after learning Muozinel's invasion Greast insist on travelling for Montour immediately as he has his plan for Elen and even Tigre. Sound like a foolproof plan, right? Well, what Greast miscalculated is that Tigre has already lurking somewhere near to his army camp and he is not alone, with Mila of all people. Needless to say, skirmish ensues and Greast's left hand is impaled by an arrow shot. What does he do? Demanding Elen to heal his right hand and even using the Magical Chain to warp around her as hostage! Elen's response? Chopping off that jerk's right hand immediately! Hell hath no fury than a Woman Scorned, indeed.
  • Despite his injury however, Greast, being a Dirty Coward and a Determinator, still refuses to give up Elen and trying to retake her by planning to rush the Moonlight Knight once an for all. For a supposed genius strategist, this is a certainly a rash move that will only backfires very quickly not just to him, but his entire army! Which lead us to...
  • The Battle of Montour. You'd expecting Greast Army will prevail again like the last time, right? Wrong! They instead being butchered mercilessly by a vengeful Moonlight Knights-specifically Leitmeritz Army who is extremely pissed off after learning Elen's torture! This is not a battle, this is a bloody massacre! In fact, Greast is shocked to see his army's annihilation that he had to escape by himself! It is thanks to Tina that Greast manage to flee from his pursuers, although this is because the former want to know Ruslan's whereabouts so she can fulfill her own ambition. He will not go far though...
  • Greast's Karmic Death in an ironic way. Oh boy, not even his brain can save him now! Of all the place he could've escape to, he goes to Vernon Mansion and even stay here of a night. Little does Greast even realizes that he is tied on a chair with ropes, and end up being tortured to death by one of his own torture devices, funny enough. Who is Greast's torturer and executioner? Denis! Yes, folks, Greast is killed not by Tigre, Elen, or even soldiers from Brune and/or Zhcted, but an exiled Brunish noble who hold his grudge against the former Marquis for screwing his family good reputation. Also, both his and Vernon's beheaded heads are delivered to Tigre and Mashas as Denis's sign of redemption.
    • The kicker? It is revealed that Vernon, owner of the mansion and an ally of Greast, has already died long before Greast even arrive to the mansion, courtesy to Denis and his friends. This means the former Marquis is actually entered a trap without even realizing anything at all.
• The bitter reunion between Elen and Fine in general. It begins with Elen calls Fine out in an angrier tone we never seen before since her incident with Greast. In fact, she is so angry that any mention about Vissarion from Fine's mouth ticks her off, and it takes Lim, Sofy, Mila and Tigre to calm Elen down and drag her out from the office. Considering what we learned from Fine's and Elen's past relationship prior to Vissarion's death and the disbandment of Silver Gale Mercenaries, the latter's rage against the former is somewhat understandable.
  • The kicker is that Fine knows that both Elen and Lim will never forgive her for killing Vissarion and yet she pushes her former friend's buttons by mentioning him and his dreams anyways simply because her impulse has gotten the best of her. One would've wonder if her earlier provocation is either intentional or by accident.
• The passing of King Viktor and Ilda's questionable death marks Zhcted's darkest days in the kingdom's history, which is also Tina's golden opportunity to manipulate the following events into her favor for the throne, including tricking Ruslan along the way. Unless the heroes are going to do something about it, her ambition cannot be stopped...
  • Everything begins with Tina enlisting some help from Fine and Liza in quelling the "rebels" (read: Sofy and Elen) who "stood against" Ruslan's reign. Keep in mind that this is actually Tina's agenda in getting rid of her would-be rivals who stop her from getting what she wants. Sure, the assassination plot is foiled thanks to the intervention by Tigre and Ruslan, saving Sofy and Liza in the progress, but surprisingly it is all part of Tina's plan and it only get worse from here...
    • Fine's betrayal onto Liza and attacks her is this. The reason? Well, it is due to their distrust onto Liza over her rekindled relationship with Elen.
    • The bigger shocker is that Ruslan of all people is acting suspiciously "nicer" towards Tina and Fine, making him as literary a Puppet King of Zhcted. Sure, it is courtesy to Tina that Ruslan returned to his "normal health" and becoming king, but he hasn't even realize that behind her "kindness" hid a dark side.
• Tigre's nightmare about the world the demons yearned to change as the whole. Let's see, purple fields, red skies, green seas, and a lot of demons lurking everywhere. What is scarier is Tigre's horrific discovery upon one shattered weapon which assumed to be Arifar and, get ready for this, tombstones, dead corpses and broken weapons are everywhere! Worst yet, one of them has Elen's name on it! Yes, folks, this is exactly what Tir Na Fal warned Tigre about the demon's twisted plot and this nightmare will be happening if Ganelon succeeds in what he do! What delaying our heroes? Zhcted's first and deadly civil war finally breaks out after Tina's and Fine's escape. Not helping matter is the army of Muozinel (read: the leader is not Kureys) is now using this chaos as an opportunity to invade Zhcted! Whether this from rouge war maidens, rebellious nobles or even outside invaders, it seems Viktor's nightmare about the dooming kingdom is coming all too true...
• Of all the chaos that plaguing Zhcted, Tir Na Fal's descent comes down as the worst considering Ganelon is the one who performing a ritual for this summoning, with Tigre and the Black Bow as his last "instruments". Just look at the color of the sky! It is freakin' purple! You don't see that everyday!
  • Even Silesia isn't immune to this kind of phenomenal either, as people are so scared by the purple skies that people keep praying until the sky turn back to normal.
• The showdown against Ganelon itself. While there are some awesome moments where Tigre is finally going to fight the duke, it is still a chilling experience to witness such battle given how powerful Ganelon actually is.
• At the end of Volume 17, Sofy was so close to dying after Tina wounded her because of her nullified Dragon Tool.
• During the climax, Silesia came this close to becoming a chaotic wasteland.

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