Posts from The Empire of Reimia (3) Auto-translated

Leaving the disgruntled woman in peace, Bert sat back down in his seat and, together with Berwang, waited for their stop. The train stopped only briefly near this small settlement, so the students had to hurry out, and then spend a considerable amount of time walking. Judging by everything, due to the modest size of this place, everyone knew each other well, and many of the residents recognized Berwang and greeted him. Finally, they arrived at the orphanage where the young man grew up. Or, at least, he thought he should be there.
— Ahaha, how strange, — he scratched his head, — maybe I led you to the wrong place, my memory is failing me, ha-ha...

— Ahaha, how strange, — he scratched his head, — I guess I led you to the wrong place, my memory is failing me, haha...

- Um, what do you mean, the wrong place? - Bert was surprised. - Maybe we should ask someone for directions?

The following changes/clarifications will take effect at the start of the next stage of the competition.
- The standard line of sight range for a character is ten squares, regardless of the selected weapon.
- In order for a character to see and interact with a target, it must be possible to draw a straight line from the center of the character to the center of the target.
- Dodge does not work while moving.
- Grenades/artillery/cannons destroy barricades.
- You can enter a trench through any of its edge points. Materials will be required to build them.
- Weapons and other items will not have weight, but the character's base speed will be reduced to 5.
- When hit by an AoE attack, only the base damage is applied to a tank; if the damage spreads to multiple squares, only the attack on the most vulnerable (of the attacked) part of the tank is taken into account.
- Mines are invisible unless otherwise specified.
- Critical damage for melee and ranged attacks is tripled; cannons, grenades, and artillery cannot inflict critical damage unless otherwise specified.
- Critical damage is always inflicted on a character in the red area of their field of vision; in addition, the character cannot dodge attacks from behind.
- Characters always turn towards those who appear in their field of vision or towards those who attack them, even if the attacker is outside their field of vision.
- Percentage-based protection is applied after the primary protection. Both protections are added separately from each other, and there are usually only two layers.
- If the turn order is not determined by the map or team features, it is determined randomly.
- Unless otherwise specified, it is not possible to camouflage in front of the enemy. When using normal methods, the only way to detect a camouflaged enemy is to step on the square with them.
- If a character's hit points are zero, they cannot be saved. +1 turn - the end of the next phase of their team.
- Melee attacks do not trigger counterattacks.

"Um, you mean not that way?" Bert was surprised. "Maybe we should ask someone for directions."

Berwang nodded, and they went to look for someone who could tell them the way to the house where the boy grew up.
"Ber?" As they passed through a small courtyard, the couple stopped at the sound of a girl's voice. "It's you!"

"Ari!" Berwang was both surprised and happy. He rushed over to hug her and began bombarding her with questions. It soon became clear that his old friend lived here with her family and often visited Berwang's orphanage to help out or just play with the children. Now, however, she studied in a neighboring town, which she reached by train.
"Oh, Ari, this is Bert, my best friend at the academy," Berwang said, pointing to Bertrand and putting his fists on his hips, as if it were a reason for great pride.
"Hello, Bert," the schoolgirl smiled politely at the elf.

Xenomia ran in a crouch, periodically waving her arms, signaling to Ely.
"We need to head south; who knows if these bandits have a camp and where it is? Besides, it will be much easier to hide in that area! But... I'm afraid they'll cut off our escape routes; they won't want us to leave and tell everyone!"
Miya weaved between the trees, trying not to be shot from behind. And that's exactly what happened; she emerged facing two bandits, caught a bullet, and fired back – but only hit once. A signal for Ely, a retreat behind the trees – and her friend finishes the job, eliminating the bandit blocking the escape route... Just as Miya had hoped! At the same time, Ely prevents another enemy from moving. Reloading, back to back, ready for the final dash... But where are the other two?
After a few seconds, only Miya realizes her mistake. Were they so close? Could they have come from all sides and attacked Ely from behind?! No...
Now, retreat is not an option. She will return with Ely, or she won't return at all; Xenomia knew this from the very beginning, when this whole mess started. She... had promised herself.
Miya turned towards the fourth bandit (the closest to her) and fired.
If the bandit is not killed, he stays there.

4 misses
? -4 receives 30 damage (120/150)

— Hello, Bert. — The schoolgirl smiled politely at the elf.

— Hi, — Bert smiled and waved. — Glad we could find at least someone we know from Berwang. We were heading to the orphanage, but we couldn't find it.

1 miss
?-2 receives 30 damage (0/150)
?-4 attacks Xenomia
1 miss
Xenomia receives 4x30=120 damage (115/325)

Added 5 minutes later

- Hello, - Bert smiled and waved. - Glad we could find at least someone from Berwang's acquaintances. We were heading to the orphanage, but couldn't find it.

— Ber?.. — Ari looked at her old friend, then lowered her gaze to the ground. — Didn't anyone tell you?..
— Huh? What didn't they tell me?
— Well... Matrona is no longer with us; she passed away several months ago, and the orphanage has been closed. The children have been moved to other places. I thought... I thought someone would have written to you about it.
Berwang stood in stunned silence.

1 miss
?-2 takes 30 damage (0/150)
?-4 attacks Xenomia
1 miss
Xenomia takes 4x30=120 damage (115/325)

Continues firing until victory or defeat.

Xenomia attacks ?-4
2 misses
?-4 receives 30x3=90 damage (30/150)
?-4 attacks Xenomia
2 misses
Xenomia receives 30x3=90 damage (25/325)
Xenomia attacks ?-4
2 misses
?-4 receives 30x3=90 damage (-60/150)

25/325

having fun during the holidays

Miya looked extremely unusual for herself. There wasn't a single wrinkle on her face indicating any emotion, but tears streamed down her cheeks. Overcoming the pain in her wounds ("it's nothing, I've been through worse!"), she immediately runs to Eli and tries to save her, no matter what, providing first aid. Regardless of the outcome, she drags her friend southwards – towards where their Academy should be, or at least the nearest hospital.
"We need to leave before any reinforcements arrive... Hurry!"

Ely comes to and, regaining her senses, rushes to Mia, embracing her with gratitude for saving her. She says "thank you," but then something around them catches her eye, and she becomes alert. She gets up, despite the pain, and limping, approaches one of the fallen enemies.
— Hey, Mia, honey, that's not how it's done, — she picks up her pistol again and finishes off the unconscious bandit with a single, accurate shot, — it should be done like this!
Having dealt with this enemy, she slowly limps towards another.

Xenomia was incredibly relieved that Eli wasn't just on the verge of death, but had also regained consciousness and could move. However, Eli's next action... Well, it wasn't entirely unpredictable, considering the circumstances. Mia grabs Eli's hand. -- Wait... Let's disarm them and tie them up... They're no longer a threat. We need to hurry, though; I'm not sure they were alone here, -- Mia began to carry out her plan. -- I understand, Eli, that this involves some risk... But if you were afraid to take risks, you wouldn't have gone into this forest, would you? We won.

There's only one left.

— Tie him up? Why? — Eli looked genuinely surprised. — Let's just shoot him and be done with it. — The girl scratched her head, puzzled. — If he had won, he would have done the same to us.