User:Whismas/Battle for Yhilin

Introduction
Hello and welcome to the Battle for Yhilin. Though the battle may feel short when you play through it, it's actually quite complicated and has a number of different things it checks for behind the scenes. Testing all those options would require a ridiculous number of saves with different variables, so it's far more effective to simply go straight to the source (code) and walk through it using RPGMaker.

This will not be a direct walkthrough because so much depends on what was done previously. Instead it will go through the flow of events, pointing out every possible branch and result

The following guide has been rated S&M for Spoilers and Math. You have been warned.

Army II: Electric Orcaloo
You remember the Army, yes? Well, things are a little different this time around. It's not a retcon- the previous information is all still relevant for that section of the game, including the battle against invasion of the Incubus King, but think of this as a transition from your former mixed army of orcs, succubi and mercenaries to a new phase of your army- an orc and succubus horde fit for an incubus king.

The first big change is that your mercenaries no longer provide any bonus to the size or quality of your army. These bonuses are simply removed. Having mercenaries is still very useful in the upcoming battle, they just won't be doing the main fighting for you.

(Bug note: While the game removes the bonuses from the mercenaries, the current version (0.18.2) forgets to remove the bonuses from the Dusty Horde if you hired them after the reunion, and so your army will be 5 larger than it should it be)

With the mercenaries out, new bonuses come in: NEW MAXIMUM TOTALS
 * +10 to Size as a new base, stacking with the old one (3, or 2 if you murdered the rebellious orcs)
 * +3 to Quality as a new base, stacking with the old base (1, with a +1 if you dominated or murdered the rebellious orcs)
 * +3 to Size if the Succubi Tower forces joined your army at any point, stacking with the old bonus (+2 to Size and +1 to Quality if you talked to their leader in chapter 1, +1 to Size and +1 to Quality if you talked to their leader in Chapter 2)
 * +3 to Size if the Withered Mountain forces joined your army, stacking with the old bonus (either +2 to Size or +3 to Size and +1 to Quality if you convinced a majority of them to join)
 * +1 to Quality if you have Stark
 * -1 to Size if the Orc Extermination Proposal Passed, OR +2 to Size and +2 to Quality if you blocked the Orc Extermination Proposal at the summit
 * +1 to Size and +1 to Quality if you had Robin do Orc Research
 * +1 to Size and +1 to Quality if you invested in Premium Steel during Chapter 1 (Not the ownership from after the retreat)
 * +1 to Size and +1 to Quality if you invested in Yilhin's Mine Processing
 * +1 to Size and +1 to Quality if you invested in the Eustrin Supplier during Megail's route (not the Eustrin Manufacturer or Processor)


 * Army Size: 30 with Robin's Orc Research, (35 with Robin's Orc Research and Dusty Horde bug)


 * Army Quality: 14 with Robin's Orc Research

The Orc Cave
Welcome to the last orc stronghold you'll hit before the big battle begins. Some poor chumps bar Simon's way, but he convinces them that it would be unwise to do so. The orcs will send him to meet either their "Big boss" if the Extermination failed or their new boss if the Extermination Passed and the Big boss died in the conflict. Off to your left you will find a chest with a paltry amount of Sx. Grab it and then head forward.

More orcs bar the way and are unwilling to listen to reason, but they're trash with 500 HP each so one good AoE from Altina or Yarra will mop the floor with them and earn you an absolutely pathetic amount of XP and Sx. Then you meet the current boss.

If you blocked the Extermination then you get to meet a new unique orc: Ralke, an orc hero on a quest to defeat the Human King and free all orcs forever! If the Extermination passed then you get nothing but my pity (this will be a theme in this guide).

The Retreat
Welcome back to Janine's retreat. First go talk to everybody! Specifically, talking to Dari about "The Plan" will give you a free +2 RP with her for keeping her in the loop (Dari is a little hard to find- she's on the eastern edge of the first floor near Nalili, somewhat hidden behind a plant). You can also talk to Nalili and see her opinion about her personal trainer. If you blocked the Extermination and thus got Ralke from the cave, then talking to Balia will give you +5 RP as she happily tells you about how this orc came to be. You can also check up on Lucy and see how she feels about all of this.

Once you've finished talking to everyone it's time for some housekeeping, where we take stock of what you have so you know what you'll be facing.

Relationships
There are several points where Simon's companions can be called into action in the ensuing battle and the aftermath, and their relationship with him will determine how effective they are. Checking up on as many of them as you can right now can help you realize how they'll perform later. Several of them can get RP bonuses based on how well you perform in battle and these bonuses can push you over to the next threshold, so I'll be sure to point those out.
 * Aka: The hardest one to figure out, since Aka is currently in a crystal and has no numbers listed.  About the only thing I could do is load up a save from the previous retreat right before going to the Ardford Summit, check her status, then go to Decanter's Guide and do some basic math, taking into account that she gets a +10 to her RP level from her transformation.  She gets an RP bonus after the fight, but that's too late to affect how she performs in battle. 80 or more (after transformation's +10) is required to do well, with the best results at 100.
 * Carina: Gains up to +5 from battle results, needs 50 or higher, with 75 or higher giving the best results
 * Janine: Gains RP bonuses after the battle, but that's too late to affect this check.  Needs 65 or higher to have an effect, with better results at 75 or higher and best results at 100
 * Megail: Gains up to +2 from battle results, has an effect at 60 or higher, with better results at 80 or higher and best results at 100
 * Qum D'umpe: Gains no RP from the battle, needs to be at 100 for good results, and at 100 without being sold in Stineford for best results
 * Yarra: Gains up to +5 from battle results, needs 100 for the best effect, anything less results in complications if you choose to use her in the aftermath of the battle

Equipment
While most of the results are going to be determined by your decisions before and during the battle, there are a handful of different conventional battles, including ones where you need to use the party members you are given, so be sure those people are well-equipped. There are also some characters who will not be doing any fights, so don't leave your best gear on them.
 * Robin and Altina will not be fighting directly at any point during the battle, so make sure their good gear is back in the party inventory
 * Varia will fight on her own, but her opponents have 500 HP and are about as tough as the trash orcs fought in the cave earlier.  Reshaped Varia has only a single foe and can probably beat him while unarmed, while Dominated Varia has five opponents.  No need to put your best gear on her, just basic equipment is fine.
 * Aka, Hilstara and Nalili will face one mandatory fight with just the three of them- note that they will not have any healing support.  They will also have an optional fight later on against magical opponents which I highly recommend you take, though poison is a potential threat there.  For the second fight, Yarra joins them if you did not repair the Rebel's Pass Bridge back in Chapter 1.  Make sure they have good weapons and armor (this will be a little complicated since Aka is currently out of your party, so the only opportunity you'd have to equip her is at the end of the summit).
 * Simon, Yarra, and two other party members chosen from Aka, Carina, Hilstara, Nalili and Qum D'umpe will face several optional fights with a time limit and one mandatory boss fight.  You will not be able to change party members once you start.  Additional succubi aren't recommended for this one.  I'd recommend Aka and then maybe Hilstara since you're already gearing them up for the other fights, though you can also put some decent armor and the best staff you have onto Carina, though that can make the fight long, slow and boring if you don't have good damage.  Having good damage also lets you clean house on the optional fights and get more out of them in the limited time you have.

Investments
Fire up that ledger and take a look. The following investments all have some effect on your performance in the following battle. The Bridge has the largest effect, but having multiple suppliers is not a bad thing.
 * Bridge Repair: This one has a few effects, most of which will get discussed in-game as well as in this guide, and determines some of the flow of the battle
 * Eustrin Supplier
 * Yhilin Supplier
 * Special Supplier (the gift to Megail)

Mercenaries
While mercenaries no longer directly affect your army strength, they do have a role in the upcoming battle and having absolutely no mercenaries means things are going to get worse. For best results, it's best to make sure that you have at least one of either the Ari-Garda or the Iron Cudgel employed by you directly, and that both the Ari-Garda and the Dusty Horde are employed (even if the Ari-Garda went to House Rose). This works even if you hired your mercenaries after the Reunion.

Army
Take the opportunity to talk to Orcent and look at your Army Size and Army Quality. An Army Quality of 12 leads to the best results, as does an Army Size of 30. You can't actually get to 30 or more going into the battle without the Dusty Horde bug, but you can increase your army size during the battle with certain decisions, so an Army Size of 28 or so is what you can be aiming for (and an Army Size of 25 gives you the second best result). Technically, with the right decisions you can even end the Battle for Yhilin with a larger army than you had going into it, and that's after the casualties are factored in. Balia does good work.

Trin's Copies
Go talk to Trin and check what she has under her control. The copies she made during Aka's route can have some effect on the outcome and aftermath of the battle in somewhat subtle ways.

Copying the Big Man has a positive effect on the aftermath and pays off well enough to the point that I highly recommend it.

Trin and Aka's efforts to sabotage the House Jade also determines how strong House Jade is going into the battle. This is determined by a hidden "House Jade Sabotage" score, where you gain a certain number of points per clerk you copy or otherwise remove from House Jade's service. If Robin told you to stop then you probably had a score of 4 or higher, but a score of 8 or higher will give you the best result, which can be acquired using only four copies (Scum, Banker, Kingsman, Aramite and talking to the halfling instead of copying her).
 * Scum Jade Clerk (Andrew, the guy who was trying to enslave the Zirantian): 2 points
 * Banker Jade Clerk (the one pointed out by Megail who you grab at the bank): 2 points
 * Kingsman Jade Clerk (clerk who wanted to buy a portrait of the king at the fancy store in the House Rose district): 2 points
 * Aramite Jade Clerk (clerk found in the outskirts): 1 Point
 * Halfling Jade Clerk (Halfling clerk from House Rose): 1 Point, but can be acquired without a copy by just talking to her
 * Young Jade Clerk (trio found in the bar): 3 Points from 3 copies, making them no more efficient than the others
 * Poor Jade Clerk (clerk found in slums): 1 point

Simon's Level
Simon's level determines how effective he is at controlling his army as an Incubus King and keeping them focused on the task at hand instead of running around looting things. It's only checked once, and for best results you want a 34 or higher.

Decisions
Some of your non-investment decisions also come into play during the battle.
 * Did the Orc Extermination Proposal pass or fail?  Not only does this affect your Army Size and Army Quality, but it also determines the flow of the battle and the timing of some events
 * Did you spare or kill the Impaler?  If spared, he appears later on.
 * Mine Resolution during Aka's Route.  Who did you wind up supporting when clearing the mine?  Flooding the mine with demons and helping out the poor people of Yhilin has the best result, while wiping out House Thelon's forces has a slightly negative consequence

You got all that? Well, now would be an excellent time to SAVE YOUR GAME. Then go talk to Janine and let's get this party started!

War Council
Here we have Simon, Janine, Megail, Sarai, Balia, Robin, Hilstara and Yara gathered around the table going over the last bit of the plan. Megail offers up an assessment of your army based on your investments so far.

The first part is determined by how many investments you've made into people who produce equipment, specifically Premium Steel (before the Reunion), Mine Processing, and the Eustrin Supplier. This has already been factored into your Army Size and Army Quality ratings, so it's just for review.
 * All 3: "They may not be equipped like knights or even a good mercenary company, but these will be the best-equipped orcs Yhilin has fought in decades."
 * 2: "They're decently equipped, and we produced more volume than I expected.  It's surprising, really."
 * 1: "They have better equipment than our enemies will suspect, but there wasn't time to equip too many with decent arms.'
 * 0: "Well, they're orcs.  Thye're better than the average rabble, I suppose."

The second part is determined by how many suppliers you have to get stuff to your army before the battle, specifically the Special Supplier (from the gift Simon made to Megail) and the Yhilini Supplier (which you could acquire at the start of Megail's route). This will have an effect on the upcoming battle, and if you have both then you'll get the best result.
 * Both: "Fortunately, the suppliers we have should be more than adequate..."
 * Just 1: "Fortunately, the supplies we have should be adequate..."
 * Neither: "That's where I'm a little worried."

If you picked up one or more of the suppliers in Aram or Ardford then Yarra will mention it that you have more suppliers, but Megail will explain that they won't be playing any part in the coming battle.

Hilstara will then explain that any supplying will have been done before the battle since this is supposed to be an invasion from an Incubus King and it would raise too many questions if humans were seen supplying the orc army before the kingdom has been conquered. Megail explains that they've done a good job of covering their tracks so far.

The next part of the discussion is a big-picture recap for the benefit of the group (also: you). You're going to need a decisive victory with minimal interference and dsetruction for this one and you don't want to waste your army or do anything stupid because there are more challenges ahead of you.

The two features that determine the shape of the battle to come are discussed.

The first is the movement of the noble house armies, which is affected by whether or not you Repaired the Bridge in Rebel's Pass back before the Reunion. If you rebuilt it ("You recall we chose to help rebuild the bridge...") then it means that you've given the noble armies a clear path to your position, but Hilstara explains that that's a good thing because it means the armies are coming in on a predictable path that you can ambush them from. If you didn't rebuild the bridge ("There's been a great deal of tension in the southwest...") then the armies will take longer to arrive and come in scattered and smaller groups.

The second is the position of the mercenary armies employed by the merchants, which is deteremined by whether or not the Orc Extermination Proposal passed. If it passed then the mercenaries will be out hunting for orcs ("Fortunately the orc extermination campaign has them spread out") while if you blocked it then the armies will be parked nearby ("There are multiple companies uncomfortably close...")

The conversation continues through the topics of magical resistance (probably, but not a whole lot), your mercenaries (commanded to join Janine's troops and will serve as the front line), orcs army divided between Simon's Doomed King and Hilstara's reserve forces, mages with Robin, and Carina, Qum and Balia supporting the orcs.

We then get a final recap of the plan. Simon mentions that it's important to adapt to the battle, but also kill as many of their true enemies as possible (or seduce, as Yarra points out). Janine talks about economic and societal chaos from the invasion, as well as army losses and collateral damage.

Bedtime. First we get a conversation with Janine where we learn more things about Simon, Wendis, and Janine. Then Aka picks the best possible time to get better and talks with Simon. Reassurances, some rest, and then it's judgement day.

Battle Overview
Simon, Janine and the others already went over the in-universe explanation of what you're trying to do, but here's how it works:

There are five or six things the game tracks during the battle, affected by your preparations and decisions before the battle as well as your actions during the battle.

Victory Points
Victory points are a measure of your ability to destroy key military and political targets that would otherwise oppose your rule. VP are earned by hitting the right targets, and can be lost by retreating or yielding ground. You want this number as high as possible, and a 10 or higher gives the best possible result in a check at the end of the fight. However, there is still one opportunity to earn VP after that check, so VP may be an ongoing factor in containing the resistance to the occupation of Yihilin, so having more than 10 is never a bad thing.

Collateral Damage
Collateral Damage represents your battle wrecking things in Yhilin that you don't want wrecked, chiefly in the form of killing lots of innocent civilians. Collateral Damage will automatically build up during the fight, and can be increased further by your decisions, but can also be decreased by other decisions. You want this number as low as possible, less than 5 for the best possible result, and you can get it down to 0 with the right decisions and preparations. I don't believe it can go negative.

Chaos
Chaos represents the disruption of social and economic order, which isn't good for a new regime because it means that you won't have control over the country and it will interfere with trade and daily lives. Like Collateral Damage, Chaos automatically increases during the battle, and can be increased or decreased further by your decisions, and you want this number as low as possible, under 5 for the best possible result.

Enemy Forces
Enemy Forces represent the raw size of the combined enemy military might arrayed against you. It starts at 100 and is decreased by your actions during the battle. A reduction can mean you killed troops, or it can just mean that the armies were smaller than expected due to earlier sabotage (the mercenary armies in particular are vulnerable to this), while the few rare increases to Enemy Forces usually come from the army being better-prepared and funded. The best possible results are obtained when you've reduced the Enemy Forces number to under 30. Lower may be better, but I'm pretty sure it's actually impossible to reduce it to 0 as even going all out on Enemy Forces reduction still leaves a score of 5 to 10 and involves a lot of trade-offs.

Army
Your Army Size and Quality have several effects during the battle, and while Army Quality remains fixed during the battle, Army Size will suffer an unavoidable decrease during the battle, and can be decreased further by taking actions that involve sacrificing troops for other gains. But your army size can also be increased by taking certain actions that involve healing your troops and with the right decisions you can gain more troops than you'd lose and thus end the battle with a larger army than you had when you started. I highly recommend doing this.

First Strike
We begin at the Command Center at the Battlefield HQ, where Simon has convened with Hilstara and Orcent, leaving Aka and Nalili to support them. He grants them whatever control over the army he can give them, then activates the Doomed King armor and begins the battle in earnest.

Ari-Relhana I
We go over to Ari-Relhana and are introduced to one of the more charming members of the Yhilini nobility. Before he can continue his campaign of kindness we introduce everyone to the Doomed King. The noble is suprised, hesitant, and incinerated.

The army marches in and Simon converses with one of the succubi leaders about the progress of the battle so far.

The game checks a sum of your Army Size and Army Quality to create a single number (so if you have Army Size 20 and Army Quality 10, your number would be 30), which is then used to decide how well your army pulled off the ambush so far. Simon asks about Collateral Damage, and the succubus reports. The report is based on Simon's level, determining how much control he exerts over the orcs. The succubi asks how Simon is going to participate in the battle, and the game also automatically increases both Chaos and Collateral Damage by 1 each (otherwise, nothing would happen if you took the upcoming options that reduce them).
 * 32 or higher ("We've won a crushing victory so far!.."): +2 Victory Points, and decreases Enemy Forces by 10
 * 24 to 31 ("We're doing about as you predicted...") +1 to VP, decreases Enemy Forces by 5
 * Under 24 ("Unfortunately, we're struggling more than expected.  Still winning...").  No change to VP or Enemy Forces
 * 34 or higher ("Not much! The orcs are utterly obedient to you, at least for now."): +1 to Collateral Damage
 * 32 to 33 ("Less than I expected!.."): +2 to Collateral Damage
 * 31 ("About what you predicted..."): +3 to Collateral Damage
 * 30 ("Well... they're orcs.  Some raiding is inevitable..."): +5 to Collateral Damage, +1 to Chaos as well
 * Under 30 ("Strangely, not much.  I didn't think your influence made much impact..."): +2 to Collateral Damage (and a comment in RPGMaker from Sierra Lee saying she doesn't want to penalize low-level games too much on story stuff)

Simon's Choices
Simon's choices involve directly assisting in battle and killing enemy troops, enforcing orc discipline to prevent them from raiding and killing civilians, targeting enemy nobles to damage enemy forces and possibly kill key targets, or assaulting a mage tower to prevent them from raining destruction down on the city and making things worse for everyone. The last option only appears if Robin researched Essence Shielding, otherwise Simon refuses to risk getting close enough that the mages could detect the Doomed King's secret

Each option has a base benefit plus one additional benefit if the sum of your Army Size and Army Quality (the number that the game checked earlier to determine how well you're doing) is the right number. Recommendations
 * Assist in the battle: Reduces Enemy Forces by 5, and grants 1 Victory Point if the sum is under 24
 * Enforce orc discipline: Reduces Collateral Damage by 1, and grants 1 VP if the sum is 32 or higher
 * Target enemy nobles: Reduces Enemy Forces by 2, and grants 1 VP if the sum is under 32
 * Assault Mage Tower: Reduces Enemy Forces by 1, grants 1 VP, Reduces Chaos and Collateral Damage by 1 each
 * If you had Robin research Essence Shielding, go after the tower, it's your best option.  If you didn't then go for one of the following based on how well you did in the assesment earlier (or if you're capable of doing basic math and figuring out what your Army Size + Army Quality sum is)
 * If you had a high sum of 32 or higher ("We've won a crushing victory so far!.."), enforce orc discipline to keep your huge army from looting
 * If you had a middle of the road option of 24 to 32 ("We're doing about as you predicted...") then target enemy nobles and keep pressing your advantage
 * If you didn't do well and had a sum of 23 or worse ("Unfortunately, we're struggling more than expected.  Still winning...") then assist the battle and support your tiny army

HQ Decisions I
We rejoin Hilstara at HQ, talking it out with Aka. Their bonding is interrupted by the arrival of Orcent, bringing the news of Simon's progress in the city. With no sign of a counter-attack or ambush, Hilstara places a group of orcs under Orcent's command and must decide where to send them

Hilstara's Decision
Hilstara must choose between sending forces to Guard Ari-Yhilina, Intercept the Ari-Khan army or just Attack Nobles to pick off more political targets. Unlike Simon's decision earlier, the effects of this decision won't take place until later in the battle, so I'll discuss them both here and when they eventually show up. Recommendation
 * Guard Ari-Yhilina: this decision won't come into play until near the very end of the battle, but its pay-off is pretty good.  You get 1 Victory Point and both Chaos and Collateral Damage are reduced by 1 at a time when both Chaos and Collateral Damage have had the opportunity to grow to their highest levels, giving it no downsides whatsoever.
 * Intercept Ari-Khan: This is the most complicated option because the effects depend on the state of the battle at the time Orcent intercepts the army, and that state can change depending on your decisions later on.  Essentially it's a combination of Victory Points, reduction to Enemy Forces, and in one case a bonus to your Army Size. One branch is +2 VP, -5 Enemy Forces, another is +1 VP, -5 EF, and +2 Army Size, and the final one is +1 VP, -10 EF.  I'll explain more once we get to that point
 * Attack Nobles: This one is comparatively simple, offering the biggest Victory Point gain at +3, but it comes with a trade-off as the attack increases Chaos by 1 and also decreasing Army Size by 1.

You really can't go wrong with sending the army to Guard Ari-Yhilina, at least your first run-through. Attacking the nobles comes with a heavy trade-off that almost isn't worth it, since you're only gaining 2 more VP compared to guarding the city and losing three or four points worth of bonuses. Intercepting Ari-Khan can help, but it depends on the flow of battle which in turn depends on your decisions both before and during the battle, making it difficult to tell if it's right for you. If you reach the end of the battle and don't like your results, then maybe switching to another path would be a good idea.

Janine's Throne
No decisions to make here, just watch as Janine faces off against her courtiers and negotiations from the newly named... Doom King. Meanwhile, one of the nobles goes into action

Back at HQ
Hilstara receives a message and explains a possible origin for the Doomed King's new name. Nalili loves it, but also wonders when something will happen. If the Orc Extermination didn't pass, she'll have to keep waiting. If it did pass, then this happens:

Redlight Attack A
If the Orc Extermination passed, then the Redlight Mercenaries are part of the groups out hunting orc bands, and roll right up into the command center intent on exterminating orcs. They're just as surprised to see Hilstara as she is to see them, and wonder how she could have possibly escaped the slave collar. Hilstara says that she survived after the succubi turned her into their sex slave. More unpleasantries are exchanged and then you fight.

With just Hilstara, Aka and Nalili in the party you have no healers, so you'll need to use Hilstara to prevent damage to her squishier allies. Hold the Line is particularly useful since it boosts defense and also provides some minor healing, and Shieldwalll can also help her absorb attacks. Aka needs to throw non-stop Disabling Assaults on everyone while Nalili builds lust (probably through Combat Masturbation) and then spams Orgy of Blows until everything is dead. The mage Redlight Officer can use healing abilities, so taking him out first is good, and both Ivastan and the sword-wielding Redlight Officer can do some good damage if Aka doesn't disable them. Blind works on the officers, but not Ivastan.

With this fight over, the Redlights teleport out, and the presence of other mercantile legions in the area means that Hilstara needs to make a decision. It's either a safe option or a riskier one.
 * Reinforce Position: Decreases Enemy Forces by 2
 * Sending scouting parties: Decreases Enemy Forces by 5, but also increases Collateral Damage by 1

If you blocked the Orc Extermination option, then the mercantile legions are a little farther out and coming in at full speed, allowing Hilstara's army to crush them first while they're away from support. Nalili wants to fight, but Hilstara explains that battles waste time unless the opponents are powerful. Nalili is disappointed.

Don't worry Nalili, you'll get your chance...

Redlight Attack B

...Right now. We cut to the Redlight mercenaries in the middle of the battlefield, wondering how they wound up facing such organized orcs (and reminding you that they have an escape spell ready).

Nalili is surprised by the strength of the mercenary group, who Hilstara quickly recognizes. After a brief chat with Aka she resolves to take down the Redlights before they can do too much damage to the Doom King's army.

Unlike the other route, this one has a quick fight with some Redlight Mercenaries, but these ones have 1500 to 2500 HP and no special abilities. Use Hold the Line with Hilstara, have Aka use Forceful Lunge on the weaker blue-shirted mercenaries, then have Nalili buff once with Combat Masturbation and spend the rest of the time using Orgy of Blows to get yourself an easy 978 XP.

Hilstara puts those chumps down with scorn since "Bastards didn't even object when Ivastan put that collar on me" and then it's onto the main event.

After Hilstara surprises the officers by calling out to them, the conversation with Ivastan and the Redlight Officers is largely identical to the one in the previous version of the fight, with the exception that Hilstara now claims that the orcs were the ones who let her survive by turning her into a sex slave, instead of the succubi.

The fight is identical, and the same strategy applies- use Hilstara to stop the party from taking damage, use Aka to stop the enemy from dealing damage, use Nalili to deal lots of damage, try not to die.

Once again, the Redlight Officers retreat after the battle, and Hilstara and the others walk back to HQ, with Hilstara taking the time to explain the group's history with the Redlight Mercenaries to Nalili, largely off screen ("And so then Simon fixed you by fucking you a bunch?  Aww, that's so sweet!")

It turns out that the attack smashed the mercantile legions and they will essentially be a non-entity for the rest of the battle, giving Hilstara more time to prepare for the next attack compared to her options in the previous branch of this encounter. As Hilstara says, it's a basic offense vs. defense trade, and so it's hard to say which would be better.
 * Send orcs for healing: Increases Army Size by 1
 * Rebuild traps: Decreases Enemy Forces by 5

Recommendation: I heavily lean towards the healing, because this one of only a handful of ways to increase your Army Size during this fight and there will be other ways to decrease Enemy Forces (including by increasing your Army Size to the point that it inflicts more casualties)

Siege Engine Attack
The two branches rejoin here, when Hilstara's attempt to take a breather is interrupted by a message from Robin announcing the launch of a magical airship heading to rain destruction down on the battlefield.

This is all well and terrifying, but the most important thing about this is: AIRSHIPS CONFIRMED BABY!

Hilstara's army lacks conventional ways to counter an airship, but Robin has a suggestion- have a succubus fly Aka up to the ship, so she can assassinate the ship's pilot mage and bring it down. Aka takes the risk.

Airship Assault
Aka lands on the ship, and quickly bypasses the guards, confronting the pilot mage. The mage launches a magical attack and attempts to knock Aka back, and the result depends on Aka's Relationship score (including the +10 from the transformation).

A score of 79 or lower means that the attack completely launches her off the airship, forcing the succubus to dive after her and catch her while the airship continues towards its target.

A score 80 or higher means that Aka hangs on, successfully assassinates the mage and then dives off the ship into the arms of a waiting succubus, causing the ship to crash.

Ari-Relhana II
We return to Ari-Relhana, and the game takes the opportunity to automatically increase the Chaos and Collateral Damage by 3 each.

Simon then receives a message from Robin, reporting in on Aka's assault.

If Aka failed (a relationship score of 79 or lower), then Simon has no choice but to destroy the airship himself while it returns to Ari-Relhana, and needs Robin to help him channel the energy to cause the ship to fall. Unfortunately, it lands on Ari-Relhana, killing many people and increasing Chaos and Collateral Damage by 1 each.

If Aka succeeded (a relationship of 80 or higher), then the results depend on how high her relationship was. (actually, the VP bonuses were handed out by the game during the airship scene, but I just listed them here for convenience)
 * 80 to 99: "Aka was able to take down the airship, and it fell in a relatively unpopulated area." +1 Victory Point
 * 100: "Aka was able to take down the airship.  Not only that, it fell into an enemy legion and dealt serious damage."  +2 Victory Points and -5 Enemy Forces

With the airship out of the way, things are well enough in hand Simon now has the opportunity to take the Doom King out to do some more damage to the enemy, either by hitting the army directly, leading the orcs to victory, or by messily dropping an occupied tower on the enemy position. If Simon had to drop the airship with his own power, he does not get the opportunity to make this decision.

Simon's Choices
Recommendation: I go for Leading Orcs, since Destroying the Enemy Position is a pretty steep trade in comparison, making things worse in exchange for 1 victory point.
 * Hit Main Army: -5 Enemy Forces
 * Lead Orcs: +1 Victory Point, -1 Collateral Damage, -2 Enemy Forces
 * Destroy Enemy Position: +2 Victory Points, +1 Collateral Damage, +1 Chaos, -2 Enemy Forces

Robin continues with her analysis of the battle, explaining that the army from Ari-Khan will be arriving that day, but she does tell Simon that everyone in the party is still alive before updating him on the status of the mercenary armies.

The results are based on your sabotage efforts during Aka's route.

If you resolved the Mine Issue in favor of the poor by flooding it with demons:

The next part depends on your Jade Sabotage score, based on how many of the House Jade clerks you took away (as explained earlier). If you resolved the mine Issue in favor of House Jade by killing off House Thelon's forces, Enemy Forces are actually increased by 1.
 * "House Adamant sent fewer troops than Janine predicted...": -5 to Enemy Forces
 * Score 8 or higher: "House Jade has far fewer mercenaries than expected..." -10 to Enemy Forces
 * Score 5 to 7: "House Jade has many fewer mercenaries than expected..." -6 to Enemy Forces
 * Score 3 to 4: "House Jade has fewer mercenaries than expected..." -3 to Enemy Forces
 * Score 0 to 2: "House Jade has slightly fewer mercenaries than expected..." No change to Enemy Forces

If Hilstara sent Orcent's forces to attack nobles, this is the point where Robin reports in on his actions, explaining that "They've taken some losses, but elimited some nobles from Janine's list who we thought would escape us."

Simon explains that the next challenge is the coalition of noble armies, and the game now branches depending on whether or not you repaired the Bridge to Rebel's Pass back before the Reunion. If you did, they're walking right into an ambush. If not, "Hilstara will have to deal with a truly chaotic battle."
 * 1) This translates to +3 Victory Points, but increases Chaos by 1 and reduces Army Size by 1.

Yarra's Ambush
If you repaired the bridge, Yarra now leads a force of succubi and orcs who are ready to ambush the noble armies coming up the road from Rebel Pass. She has a conversation with one of the other succubi, reassuring and demonstrating why she is truly the First Slut of the Doom King.

The noble army heads down the road, finds themselves surrounded by beautiful succubi, and then... NOM NOM NOM

(This grants 1 Victory Point)

Back at HQ, Hilstara receives a report that the Yarra's forces have utterly routed the enemy, leaving most of them dead or captured. Yarra is still some distance away, but there will be far fewer enemies to deal with.

Then a succubus comes in with the report of a problem...

Scattered Nobles
If you didn't repair the bridge back before the Reunion, the nobles are scattered around and closing in fast enough that Yarra's forces can no longer pick them off, so she returns to HQ and joins up with Hilstara's group.

Then a succubus comes in with the report of a problem...

Return of the Magekillers
It's a group of four mages, but they're too strong for the succubi to handle. Hilstara admits that her group is not the best equipped for fighting mages, but they could try to do something. If Yarra is present because she didn't lead an ambush, she offers to go along. Hilstara must then make a choice: If you choose to stay put, the scene ends, while if you choose to fight them then it cuts to a scene of four color-coded mages on the battlefield, somewhat concerned by the amount of orcs they were paid to fight.
 * Stay here: Not only are you a total coward, you also lose 1 Victory Point
 * Fight them: Go take the fight to the mages!

If you previously beat the Magekillers, Hilstara will recognize them as "criminals I met while traveling with Megail". Either way she recommends caution. If you previously beat them, the Magekillers will recognize Hilstara as well, but either way you fight.

Much like with the Redlight Officer fight, your lack of healing means that you need to use Hilstara to reduce damage to the party, Aka to reduce the damage dealt by the enemy, and Nalili to deal damage. Hilstara's Hold the Line is key to increasing your party's magic defense so you can minimize damage. The magekillers haven't changed all that much, but the green one is vulnerable to lust damage if you have Yarra and the purple one can be confused by Hilstara's Bash. With the right gear and a defense boost using Hold the Line the poison is the only way you'll take damage.

Succeed and you get 1992 XP and a Green Hat, but the Magekillers teleport away. If you fought them before, Hilstara explains that she was trying to disable them to prevent their escape. With the battle done, her group heads back.

Janine's Throne II
We return to the throne room where Janine watches the battle, preparing for an attack. A guard soon arrives and delivers the news- an enemy army is attacking, but it's a human one! Janine readies her army and mercenaries and prepares to act.

Decision Point
The Doom King arrives at Battlefield HQ, and his forces are glad to see him, but the flow of battle now depends on your actions before the battle. Did you Repair the Rebel's Pass Bridge before the Reunion and did the Orc Extermination Proposal pass or fail? If the bridge is out then nobles are spread out and not funneled into one area, and if the Extermination passed then the mercenaries are spread out hunting orcs. If the bridge was repaired and the Extermination failed, then all your enemies are clustered together.

According to Hilstara, spread out enemies make the battle easier but increase the collateral damage and chaos, while clustered opponents do the opposite. You can tell how you're doing either by remembering what decisions you made or by simply seeing what Hilstara has to say about the situation: Once your decision is made, the battle begins, and you are put into the route you unknowingly chose. Each route has a different starting effect: Each route will also affect different options later.
 * The Extermination Passed and you did not repair the Rebel's Pass bridge before the reunion: "...our opponents are spread out over a broad area...".  You are at the start of Route A.  You have two choices
 * Keep Current Position: Reduces Enemy Forces by 5, stays in Route A
 * Group Opponents: Increases Chaos by 1, goes to Route B
 * You either repaired the bridge or blocked the Extermination, but not both: "...some of our opponents are spread out..."  You are at the start of Route B.  You have three choices:
 * Keep Current Position: Reduces Enemy Forces by 5, stays in Route B
 * Group Opponents: Increases Chaos by 1, goes to  Route C
 * Spread out opponents: Increases Chaos by 1, goes to Route A
 * You blocked the Extermination and repaired the bridge: "...most of our opponents are clustered together...".  You are at the start of Route C.  You have two choices:
 * Keep current position: Reduces enemy forces by 5, stays in Route C
 * Spread out opponents: Increase Chaos by 1, goes to Route B
 * Route A: Increases Victory Points by 2, Collateral Damage by 2, and Chaos by 2
 * Route B: Increases Victory Points by 1, Collateral Damage by 1 and Chaos by 1.  Increases Enemy Forces by 3
 * Route C: Decreases Collateral Damage by 1, Chaos by 1. Increases Enemy Forces by 5

Personal Opinion: I like Route C for several reasons, chief among them being that repairing the bridge and blocking the Extermination already paid off several times in this game (and this battle). Route C is also the most defensive route that focuses on preventing losses and damage, and while later options for Route A lets you reduce Collateral Damage the most and Route B lets you reduce Chaos the most, Route C lets you increase your Army Size, making it the only route that lets you possibly have more orcs at the end of the battle than you had at the beginning.

Ari-Khan Arrival
Simon's group now watches as the forces from Ari-Khan arrive and engage in battle. If Hilstara had Orcent's forces ready to Intercept Ari-Khan, this is where they'll finally strike, with the results depending on what Battle Route you're on. If Orcent's forces were sent to do something else, you get a different message: "Ari-Khan's army has arrived, and they hit hard.  This is going to be brutal." This has no mechanical effect though, so don't worry!
 * Route A: "Orcent's forces have hit Ari-Khan's flank!...".  Grants +2 to Victory Points and reduces Enemy Forces by 5
 * Route B: "Wait, Orcent's forces are hitting them from the side!.."  Graints +1 Victory Point, reduces Enemy Forces by 5, increases Army Size by +2
 * Route C: "Wait, Orcent's forces are hitting them from behind!.." Grants +1 Victory point and reduces Enemy Forces by 10.

Either way, as Simon says, they simply must wait and choose when to act. That moment comes pretty soon.

Helping Healers
Carina, Qum D'umpe and Balia are in the middle of the healer's clearing, tending to wounded orcs, and Carina wonders about what she could do to be more helpful in the future. This leads to a conversation with Qum D'umpe, but it's cut short when Balia announces that the clearing has been found by the enemy.

Returning to HQ, and Simon must make a decision about what to do with that information- rescue the party members and abandon the position, or try to hold it entirely. The effect of this decision will depend on what state the battle is in- a fixed field hospital isn't that valuable in a spread-out fight where your forces can't reach it (Route A), but is tremendously important when the battle is clustered up not too far away (Route C). Obviously, Rescue Party Members if you're in Route A, and Hold Position if you're in Route C, but make your own decision if you're in Route B (I would have chosen something other than Route B, you fence-sitter).
 * Rescue Party Members
 * Route A: +1 to Victory Points, +1 to Army Size
 * Route B: +1 to Victory Points
 * Route C: -1 to Victory Points, -1 to Army Size
 * Hold the Position
 * Route A: -1 to Victory Points, -1 to Army Size
 * Route B: +1 to Army Size
 * Route C: +1 to Victory Points, +1 to Army Size

Chosing "Rescue Party Members" also results in Aka, Yarra and Nalili going with the Doom King, leaving Hilstara by herself. This only affects dialogue.

Impaler Interference
If you spared the Impaler, then a report comes in of a band of orcs led by one with red hair and green skin. Slight dialogue difference depending on if Hilstara is the only one left after Simon took the others to rescue the party- if so she says "Well, it looks like sparing the Impaler worked out after all...", and if not and Yarra is still here then Yarra is the one who identifies the Impaler.

The succubus report on the Impaler's actions depend on what route you're in.
 * Route A: "Anyway, he's making the battle a lot more chaotic, but he's sure laying into the enemy." +1 Victory Point, +1 to Chaos
 * Route B: "Anyway, he's fighting recklessly and killing some civilians, but he's backed a lot of enemy forces into each other." -1 to Chaos, +1 to Collateral Damage
 * Route C: "Anyway, he's fighting recklessly and killing some civilians, but he's sure doing a lot of damage!" +1 to Victory Points, +1 to Collateral Damage

Supplier Solutions
Hilstara thinks to herself about the things she could have changed, and then thinks about the supply lines. This checks to see if you have the Yhilini Supplier, Special Supplier (Gift to Megail), and Eustrin Supplier.
 * Eustrin Supplier: +1 Victory Point (independent of other two)
 * Both the Yhilini Supplier and Special Supplier: "At least our supply lines made sure we got all our orcs well-equipped..."  +3 Victory Points, -1 to Chaos, -10 to Enemy Forces
 * Special Supplier or Yhilini Supplier: "If our supply lines had been a little better..." +2 Victory Points, -5 to Enemy Forces
 * Neither Special Supplier or Yhilini Supplier: "So many of our orcs are ill-equipped..." -1 to Victory Points, +1 to Chaos

Complications
At this point Hilstara spots something in her observations of the battle, and what she spots (and what she can do) depends on the flow of the battle, with each decision being a trade-off between two things

Route A: Isolated orcs
"A large group of our orcs has gotten completely isolated..."
 * Abandon group: +1 Victory Points, -1 to Army Size
 * Save Orcs: +1 to Chaos, +1 to Army Size
 * Exploit chance to attack elsewhere: +1 Victory Points, +1 to Chaos

Route B:  Wall Breach
"The enemy has breached the walls of Ari-Relhana..."
 * Throw troops into the breach: -1 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Army Size
 * Abandon wall positions, fortify elsewhere: -1 to Chaos, +1 to Collateral Damage
 * Ignore breach, counterattack elswhere: +1 to Victory Points, +1 to Collateral Damage

Route C: Pincer Attack
"The enemy is attempting a pincer attack!.." After you've made this decision, there aren't really any more decisions Hilstara can make, and now it's time to wrap up the battle.
 * Hold ground: -1 to Chaos, -1 to Army Size
 * Retreat: -1 to Victory Points, +1 to Chaos
 * Break through one pincer: -5 to Enemy Forces, +1 to Collateral Damage

Battle Aftermath
The battle is over and the Doom King addresses his commanders in a field full of corpses. All admit that there was much to do, and the King asks the price of victory. The response depends on the shape of the battle. At this point the game provides an automatic +5 increase to Chaos and a +5 increase to Collateral Damage. Then comes the checks.
 * Route A: "I would anticipate a great deal of collateral damage..."
 * Route B: "It's difficult to say.  A battle as chaotic as this one..."
 * Route C: "We managed to limit the damage to civilians, but we paid a hefty price."

Army Size
Your army size determines how much of the enemy forces you were able to take with you, and then determines what bonuses you get based on the route you were on. The game then automatically reduces your Army Size by 5 to represent losses incurred in battle.
 * Army 30 or higher: -25 to Enemy Forces
 * Route A: -3 to Collateral Damage
 * Route B: -3 to Chaos
 * Route C: +3 to Army Size
 * 25 to 29: -20 to Enemy Forces
 * Route A: -2 to Collateral Damage
 * Route B: -2 to Chaos
 * Route C: +2 to Army Size
 * 20 to 24:-15 to Enemy Forces
 * Route A: -1 to Collateral Damage
 * Route B: -1 to Chaos
 * Route C: +1 to Army Size
 * 15 to 19: -10 to Enemy Forces (no changes based on route)
 * Under 15: -5 to Enemy Forces
 * Route A: +1 to Collateral Damage
 * Route B: +1 to Chaos
 * Route C: -1 to Army Size

Route Mechanics
The game then checks your route and the size of the remaining Enemy Forces to determine what other bonuses you get and what Orcent has to say

Route A
100 or higher: "Unfortunately, many groups broke apart..." +3 to Collateral Damage

90 to 99: "Unfortunately, many groups broke apart..." +1 to Collateral Damage

80 to 89: "Unfortunately, several groups broke apart..." +0 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos

70 to 79: "Unfortunately, several groups broke apart..." -1 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos

60 to 69: "Unfortunately, several groups broke apart..." -2 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos

50 to 59: "We more or less held together..." -3 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos, +1 to Victory Points

40 to 49: "We more or less held together..." -4 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos, +1 to Victory Points

30 to 39: "We more or less held together..." -5 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos, +1 to Victory Points

29 or lower: "We more or less held together..." -6 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos, +1 to Victory Points

Route B
100 or higher: "We orcs maintained control when the battle was simple..." +3 to Chaos

90 to 99: "We orcs maintained control when the battle was simple..." +2 to Chaos, -1 to Collateral Damage

80 to 89: "We orcs maintained control when the battle was simple..." +1 to Chaos, -1 to Collateral Damage

70 to 79: "We orcs maintained control when the battle was simple..." +0 to Chaos, -1 to Collateral Damage

60 to 69: "Despite the chaos of the battle..." -1 to Chaos, -1 to Collateral Damage, +1 to Victory Points

50 to 59: "Despite the chaos of the battle..." -2 to Chaos, -1 to Collateral Damage, +1 to Victory Points

40 to 49: "Despite the chaos of the battle..." -3 to Chaos, -1 to Collateral Damage, +1 to Victory Points

30 to 39: "Despite the chaos of the battle..." -4 to Chaos, -1 to Collateral Damage, +1 to Victory Points

29 or lower: "Despite the chaos of the battle..." -5 to Chaos, -1 to Collateral Damage, +1 to Victory Points

Route C
100 or higher: "A great many have fallen..." -2 to Army Size

90 to 99: "A great many have fallen..." -1 to Army Size, +1 to Victory Points

80 to 89: "Many have fallen..." +1 to Army Size, +1 to Victory Points

70 to 79: "Many have fallen..." +2 to Army Size, +2 to Victory Points

60 to 69: "Many have fallen..." +3 to Army Size, +2 to Victory Points

50 to 59: "Many have fallen..." +4 to Army Size, +2 to Victory Points

40 to 49: "Though many fell..." +5 to Army Size, +2 to Victory Points, -1 to Collateral Damage

30 to 39: "Though many fell..." +6 to Army Size, +2 to Victory Points, -1 to Collateral Damage

29 or lower: "Though many fell..." +7 to Army Size, +2 to Victory Points, -1 to Collateral Damage

Personal Opinion: Hey, remember how much I said I liked Route C? You get up to 10 points to your Army Size, which means you can take the 5 point loss from the battle and still have more guys than you started with, up to 7 more or so if you also used the opportunity to heal your forces after the Redlight fight (provided you blocked the Extermination) and went to hold the position when the healer's clearing was discovered. With the Dusty Horde bug you can have an army size of 40 at the end of the battle... that's as many as four tens, and that's wonderful.

Collateral Damage
The game then checks your army quality to determine how much collateral damage you caused and what Yarra has to say.
 * Quality 12 or higher: "Actually, I don't think we were much worse than an invading human army!.." +1 to Victory Points, -1 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos
 * 11: "It's a war, I won't pretend there wasn't some..." +1 to Victory Points, +0 to Collateral Damage, -1 to Chaos
 * 10: "It's a war, I won't pretend there wasn't some..." +0 to Victory Points, Collateral Damage, Chaos
 * 9: "...Orcs will be orcs, but most succubi were reckless as well" +0 to Victory Points, +1 to Collateral Damage, +0 to Chaos
 * 8: "...Orcs will be orcs, but most succubi were reckless as well" +0 to Victory Points, +1 to Collateral Damage, +1 to Chaos
 * 7: "...Orcs will be orcs, but most succubi were reckless as well" -1 to Victory Points, +2 to Collateral Damage, +1 to Chaos
 * 6: "...Orcs will be orcs, but most succubi were reckless as well" -1 to Victory Points, +2 to Collateral Damage, +2 to Chaos
 * 5: "...Not as bad as the Incubus King's invasion..." -1 to Victory Points, +3 to Collateral Damage, +2 to Chaos
 * 4 or lower: "Not as bad as the Incubus King's invasion..." -2 to Victory Points, +3 to Collateral Damage, +3 to Chaos

The Coup
Robin then chimes in with an emergency message from Janine- someone is attempting a coup!

Here's where things get interesting.

Mercenaries
If you did not hire the AriGarda at any point (either for yourself before the Reunion or for House Rose after the Reunion) then Chaos increases by +1, your Army Size decreases by 2, and there will be AriGarda consequences later

If you hired the Dusty Horde at some point, they're the first line of defense, and how well they perform depends on when (and if) you hired them If you didn't hire the Dusty Horde, you get the line "If I had not been prepared to teleport back to my retreat, they would no doubt have captured me." and earn no Victory Points. There will also be a problem later.
 * Before the Reunion: "...and despite how hard they fought, they only slowed the enemy down." +2 to Victory Points
 * After the Reunion: "... and they were annihilated.  They only slowed the enemy down." +1 to Victory Points

While the enemy forces were prepared for Janine, they weren't prepared for what happened when Janine pooled information with Megail and Trin, and you now have a suspect. The Doom King will continue moving to the palace while a small team goes after the mastermind, though Varia is too far away to be a part of this (as is Altina if you have her).

If Hilstara had Orcent leave an army near Ari-Yhilin, they finally come into action and fight against the coup forces, giving a +1 to Victory Points and a -1 to Collateral Damage and a -1 to Chaos. The question becomes: should  they send more orcs?

If the army wasn't stationed near Ari-Yhilin, it's Janine who requests orc reinforcements against the invaders.

Either way, you have a choice about whether you think your orcs are disciplined enough to do less damage than the invaders will do:
 * Keep orcs out: Keeps them out, and also results in a +1 to Chaos and Collateral Damage applied later on
 * Send orcs into Ari-Yhilina: The results depend on your army quality
 * 12 or higher: +2 Victory Points, +1 to Chaos
 * 9 to 11: +1 Victory Points, +1 to Chaos and Collateral Damage
 * 5 to 8: +1 Victory Point, +2 to Chaos and Collateral Damage
 * 4 or lower: +3 to Chaos and Collateral Damage

Elven Encounters
We first go to the Elven Ghetto, where everything depends on Altina.
 * If Altina was never rescued, the elven elder talks to one of the other elves and discovers that humans have set fire to the slums.  This destroys the Elven Ghetto, leaves the elves in a state of Total Chaos and also adds +1 to Collateral Damage and Chaos
 * If Altina was rescued and adopted her sex-focused personality then she comes along and saves the elder from the flames with a blast of ice, talking about how she needs to save elven breeders for her master.  This provides +1 to Victory Points, but also +1 to Chaos, and leaves the ghetto in a state of chaos
 * If Altina was rescued and allowed to recover, she saves the elder and talks about how there are bigger things coming that she will help the elves get through.  This provides +1 to Victory Points, a -1 to Collateral Damage, but still leaves the ghetto in a state of chaos
 * If Altina was rescued but left to join the elves during Aka's route, then she manages to summon a massive cloud of rain and put out the fires before they can spread, and tells the elder that if he trusts her, she'll help the community survive if they listen to her.  This provides +1 to Victory Points, a -1 to Collateral Damage and a -1 to Chaos, and leaves the Elves in a state of stability

Kingsmen Bar
Over in the Kingsmen Bar the locals are indulging in their favorite sport of "blame Janine for everything" (either for blocking the Orc Extermination if it failed or foiling the actual extermination attempts if the proposal passed). One of them urges the others to join the fight against her and rebel. Then Varia shows up.

The outcome depends on her personality:
 * Dominated Varia mentions that she's only good for one thing other than pleasuring her master.  Then she demonstrates by stabbing a dude.  This provokes a fight with two Kingsmen Thugs, two Kingsmen Soldiers and one Kingsmen Mage, though all five of them have 500 HP so Varia should be able to clean house with her Furious Strikes multi-attack.  Murdering everyone in the bar reduces Chaos by 1 and also severely damages the Kingsmen organization
 * Reshaped Varia tells the Kingsmen that they're no different from the looters and thieves but gives them the same offer of "join me or die".  One of them attacks, putting her into a fight against a single Kingsmen Thug.  You'd have to actually try in order to lose this one.  Once the fight is over it turns out that she left him alive, and no one else in the bar is willing to resist her after that demonstration.  This reduces Collateral Damage by 1

The Hidden Stronghold
So you're going into a secret lair, and you can only bring four people. Two of them are already chosen: Simon and Yarra. The other two need to be chosen from Aka, Carina, Hilstara, Nalili and Qum D'umpe. But as the game mentions, the group you're up against has a habit of using Unpeople, so bringing along extra succubi can be a liability. I suggest bringing along Aka and then either Carina or Hilstara. Bringing along Hilstara means that Simon's support skills are your only source of healing, while bringing along Carina means that you need everyone else to be good at dealing damage. I hope you equipped appropriately, because you're not going to be able to get gear off of Robin, Altina, or Varia.

The next section is timed, so if you really want to get the most out of it then you can go to the system menu and make sure you have Autodash set to "Dash", Instant Text set to "Instant" and Battle Animations to "Hide" but it's not really necessary.

Head down to the door and Yarra will do her thing, triggering the countdown. You can turn around and run up to the chest back in the previous room, which you can now open. Inside there are two carnal demons and two corrupt demons with 2000 HP each. They resist physical attacks but take full damage or even extra damage from lust attacks depending on the demon so if you have a Yarra who is equipped for a high magic attack you can wipe the floor with them using Incubus King's Emissary. The Corrupt Demons are also vulnerable to Simon's Corruption skill if it was learned in the Orgasmic Empire, but you can probably end the fight faster than that with Yarra.

There are two enemies roaming around the halls, and with a party geared for offense you can kick their asses and still have time to do everything else. Both enemies are vulnerable to lust damage, and can be affected by things such as Aka's Deathblow attack, or Simon's Dominate, and the armored enemy has 6000 HP compared to the robed enemy's 3000, making it an easy mark for Deathblow.

Heading down the left side of the room gets to a room in the lower left with four chests. The one you actually need is in the lower left corner, though the upper left and lower right have small amounts of Sx in them. Heading across the hall gets you to a wall with a bunch of shiny objects on the other side, but the second square from the bottom has a hidden passage








 * | <-This one



Inside, just interact with the crystal to disable the teleportation magic, then wander out the way you came in and head north.

Up in the room in the upper right with the piano there is a painting you can interact with to open a hidden door (provided you got the key earlier from the room in the lower left). Down the corridor and you run into the mastermind of the operation and her boss fight of Unhumans.

Now you see why you shouldn't go bringing succubi.

Unhuman Bosses
This fight can be pretty tough if you don't have a combination of good levels and gear. No shame in checking out the Bosses guide. The key part is to use a combination of Aka to lower an the enemy attacks with Disabling Assault while either Carina or Hilstara (whichever you brought) boost the party's defense with Shield of Purity and Hold the Line respectively. This reduces the enemy damage enough that you can keep on top of things with Simon or Carina healing while Aka and whoever else is in the party chips away at things. The Unhuman Failure is vulnerable to lust, so Yarra can help, though being hit with Sexbind will leave her without much to do other than whip things unless Carina is also in the party and uses Calming Aura.

Beat the bosses and it's time to talk with the real boss... who isn't quite what Trin was expecting. Interesting conversations occur.

Orcent
Orcent leads a group of orcs. Some of them are less than happy with the new "no raping" initiative and decide to settle things with swords. Dialogue depends on if you chose to send orcs to defend Janine against the coup forces- the orc is annoyed with having to ignore fleeing civilians if the orcs are on a mission, or annoyed with having to stand around waiting outside the city if you didn't send them in. If you've gotten this far then you probably know how Orcent works in a fight- spam Defensive Strike to neutralize your enemy's damage abilities so you have time to take him out, then spam Aggressive Attack to finish things off. Orcent gains 766 XP from the battle and then an additional 20,000 XP behind the scenes.

And with that the battle itself draws to a close. Now for the hard part.

Aftermath I: Allied Assessment
In the throne room, Simon and Janine review the aftermath of the battle. Behind the scenes, a new variable is introduced:

Yhilin Acceptance
Yhilin Acceptance is a variable that measures how well the people of Yhilin respond to your rule. It starts at 10, and goes up when the Doom King has acted like a fair, disciplined and restrained ruler, and goes down when the Doom King destroys things, lets his armies rampage over the countryside and generally acts like a terrible tyrant.

Battle Outcome and Effects
Simon, Janine and the rest of the group discuss how the battle went in the aftermath of the invasion, the coup and the seizure of the city. It's one thing to take a country, but actually holding it will a different matter.

First Janine asks Simon about her speech, and the results depend on her Relationship: Then it's time to review the battle reports.
 * 100: "I thought it went very well, given the difficulty of what I had to say." +3 to Yhilin Acceptance, -1 to Collateral Damage, -2 to Chaos
 * 75 to 99: "I thought it went well, given the difficulty of what I had to say." +2 to Yhilin Acceptance, -2 to Chaos
 * 65 to 74: "I did my best, but given the difficulty of what I had to say..." +1 to Yhilin Acceptance, -1 to Chaos
 * 64 or lower: "I did my best, but I fear I didn't reach them..." No stat changes

First the game makes some final adjustments: Then it's counting time.
 * If you did not send orcs to help Janine against the coup forces, this is when the game gives you a +1 to Collateral Damage and Chaos from the damage the enemy causes (I mentioned this earlier for the sake of easy comparison, but it's not counted twice)
 * If you did not hire the Dusty Horde at any point, there game adds a +1 to Collateral Damage and +2 to Chaos since (as you will soon discover) you now have a bunch of undisciplined and unpaid mercenaries who decided to take advantage of the battle to get some looting done.
 * If Trin copied the Big Man back in Aka's route, the game applies a -1 to Chaos and Collateral Damage as he heroically helps out (as Trin will mention later)

Janine has a hidden temporary counter that goes up when you succeed at things and goes down when you screw things up and get her country wrecked. This determines if she thinks that the invasion was worth it in the end.

Victory Points
First comes Simon's assessment of how many military goals were accomplished, in the form of a Victory Point check.
 * 10 or higher: "From a military perspective, our victory was crushing...
 * +3 to Yhilin secret score, and +2 to Simon's Social, Religion, and Economy stats
 * +2 to Army Quality
 * +5 RP to Yarra, Trin, Nalili, and Dominated Varia
 * +3 RP to Altina if sex-focused
 * +2 RP to Janine, and +2 to her hidden counter
 * 6 to 9: "From a military perspective, we won a sound victory..."
 * +2 to Yhilin secret score, and +1 to Simon's Social, Religion, and Economy stats
 * +1 to Army Quality
 * +3 RP to Yarra, Trin, Nalili, and Dominated Varia
 * +1 RP to Altina if sex-focused
 * +0 RP to Janine
 * 3 to 5: "From a military perspective, we won a decent victory at best..."
 * +1 to Yhilin secret score
 * +1 to Chaos and Collateral Damage
 * +2 RP to Yarra, Trin, and Nalili
 * +1 RP to Dominated Varia
 * +0 RP to Altina if sex-focused
 * -1 RP to Janine and -1 to her hidden counter
 * 2 or lower: "From a military perspective, we struggled worse than I expected..."
 * +2 to Chaos and Collateral Damage
 * +1 RP to Yarra, Trin, and Nalili
 * -2 RP to Janine, -2 to her hidden counter

Chaos
From Janine's perspective, a measure of how badly the invasion disrupted order and prevents things from being returned to normal. Lower is better.
 * 20 or higher: "Yhilin has been thrown into chaos.  It will take a great deal of time..." "...I am also saddened to read that the Merchant Quarter..."
 * -3 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -6 to Yhilin secret score
 * -5 RP to Megail
 * -3 RP to Hilstara
 * -3 RP to Janine, and -3 to her hidden counter
 * -1 RP to Reshaped Varia
 * Economic Chaos is in effect
 * Societal Chaos is in effect
 * Merchant Quarter has been devastated
 * 15 to 19: "Yhilin has been thrown into chaos.  It will take time..." "...I am also saddened to read that the Merchant Quarter..."
 * -2 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -4 to Yhilin secret score
 * -3 RP to Megail
 * -2 RP to Hilstara
 * -2 RP to Janine, and -2 to her hidden counter
 * +1 RP to Reshaped Varia
 * Economic Chaos is in effect
 * Societal Chaos is in effect
 * Merchant Quarter has been devastated
 * 10 to 14: "The chaos we caused is ugly, but the situation isn't unworkable..." "...I am also saddened to read that the Merchant Quarter..."
 * -1 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -2 to Yhilin secret score
 * -2 RP to Megail
 * -0 RP to Hilstara
 * -1 RP to Janine, and -1 to her hidden counter
 * +3 RP to Reshaped Varia
 * Economic Chaos is in effect
 * Merchant Quarter has been devastated
 * 5 to 9: "The chaos we caused is ugly, but the situation isn't unworkable..."
 * -0 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -1 to Yhilin secret score
 * -0 RP to Megail
 * +2 RP to Hilstara
 * +1 RP to Janine, and +1 to her hidden counter
 * +4 RP to Reshaped Varia
 * Economic Chaos is in effect
 * 4 or lower: "Though obviously the battle caused chaos, it was remarkably contained..."
 * +1 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -0 to Yhilin secret score
 * +2 RP to Megail
 * +5 RP to Hilstara
 * +2 RP to Janine, and +2 to her hidden counter
 * +5 RP to Reshaped Varia

Collateral Damage
From Janine's perspective, how badly you harmed the country by killing innocent people and destroying homes. Lower is better. Moving on, we get some more hidden numbers:
 * 20 or higher: "And the death tolls... I shudder to think of all the lives broken and families ended."
 * -8 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -6 to Yhilin Secret Score
 * -5 RP to Aka, Carina, and Sarai
 * -5 RP to normal Altina
 * -5 RP to Janine, and -5 to her hidden counter
 * Queensmen devastated
 * Slum Shops ruined
 * Ari-Yhilin Square ruined
 * Population devastated
 * 15 to 19: "And the death tolls... I fear many civilians were killed..."
 * -5 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -4 to Yhilin Secret Score
 * -2 RP to Aka and Sarai
 * -3 RP to Carina
 * -2 RP to normal Altina
 * -3 RP to Janine, and -3 to her hidden counter
 * Queensmen devastated
 * Slum Shops ruined
 * Population devastated
 * 10 to 14: "As for the death tolls... all these bodies weigh on my conscience."
 * -3 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -2 to Yhilin Secret Score
 * +1 RP to Aka and Sarai
 * -1 RP to Carina
 * +1 RP to normal Altina
 * -1 RP to Janine, and -1 to her hidden counter
 * Queensmen devastated
 * Slum Shops ruined
 * 5 to 9: "As for the death tolls... though many were spared, I weep for those who were not."
 * -1 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * -1 to Yhilin Secret Score
 * +3 RP to Aka and Sarai
 * +1 RP to Carina
 * +3 RP to normal Altina
 * +1 RP to Janine, and +1 to her hidden counter
 * Queensmen devastated
 * 4 or lower: "As for the death tolls... I hesitate to say I rejoice..."
 * +1 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * +5 RP to Aka and Sarai
 * +5 RP to normal Altina
 * +3 RP to Janine, and +3 to her hidden counter

First, you get +5 RP to Balia because apparently she was just happy to work with some orcs.

Next, your final Chaos and Collateral Damage are totaled and then compared to your Victory Points

Next it checks to see if you hired the Iron Cudgel or the AriGarda at any point (even if you paid the AriGarda to guard House Rose). Next, it's the outcome of what happens if you sent orcs to fight off the coup. If you did, the outcome is determined by your Army Quality: Otherwise she says "We managed to fight off the coup without any assistance from your orcs, but we felt the lossess..."
 * If you have more Victory Points than you have Chaos and Collateral Damage, then Victory has outweighed the Damage you did.
 * This grants +2 RP to Robin, +3 to Daria, and +5 to Esthera
 * Otherwise you did more harm than good.
 * If you did: "The coup nearly destroyed the Court, but fortunately the mercenaries you left with me stopped them."
 * If you didn't hire any: "In addition, the coup attempt rendered the Court next to unusable..."
 * As she said, the Court has been ruined
 * 12 or higher: "Thank you for sending your orcs into the city to stop the coup.  I never would have expected orcs could be so disciplined..."
 * +2 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * 9 to 11: "Sending your orcs into Ari-Yhilina early was probably the right decision..."
 * +1 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * 5 to 8: "Your orcs did help fight off the coup, but they did a great deal of damage..."
 * -1 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * Outskirts ruined
 * 4 or lower: "I wish we hadn't decided to send orcs into the city..."
 * -3 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * Outskirts ruined

Simon asks Janine how she feels about the battle. The game then checks the hidden counter that went up or down depending on how Victory Points, Chaos and Collateral Damage turned out. Now it's time to talk to your allies. You have to talk to all of them, so go do it! Some of them only have one thing to say, but others have different things depending on your decisions and relationship
 * 1 or higher: "Honestly relieved.  I expected everything to be so much worse..."
 * +5 RP to Janine
 * 0 or lower "...it's probably the stress talking, but part of me regrets it..."

Altina
Altina explains how she helped the elven ghetto, and both versions are concerned by how sad the elves are and wonder how Simon will help them- the sex-focused version just happens to hope that they'll be turned into breeders.

Carina
Carina is unhappy with the devastation caused by the invasion, and Simon agrees, then suggests that she work with Sarai to set up a clinic for injured civilians. Carina agrees, and the effect depends on her relationship score:
 * 75 or higher: -1 to Chaos and Collateral Damage
 * 50 to 74: -1 to Collateral Damage
 * 49 or lower: No mechanical effect

Dari
If Simon Victory Points outweighed the Chaos and Collateral Damage at a specific point earlier (and no, any changes to the scores after that point won't affect it), Dari's dialogue slightly changes: Then she talks and gets a mission.
 * If Victory > Damage: "Hey! Sounds like the battle went great overall!"
 * Otherwise: "Hey! Battle was kind of rough, but I'm glad you're alright!"

Megail
Simon's battle is over, but Megail's is just beginning. Now she has to work with merchants to get the country back on its feet. Her effectiveness depends on her relationship score:
 * 100: +3 to Yhilin Acceptance, -2 to Chaos
 * 80 to 99: +2 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * 60 to 79: +1 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * 59 or lower: No mechanical effect

Robin
As with Dari, Robin's dialogue changes depending on if Simon's Vicotry Points outweighed the Chaos and Collateral Damage. Either way, she's concerned about the Order of Yhilini Thaumaturgy, who have put up a defensive spell.
 * If Victory > Damage: "So, the battle is over.  Despite the cost, I feel as though what we accomplished was worth it."
 * Otherwise: "So, the battle is over.  We won, but at a serious cost."
 * If Robin researched Yhilin Magic, she can penetrate the barrier with a message to convince them to stand down
 * This increases Yhilin Acceptance by +1 and reduces Chaos by 2
 * Otherwise, she apologizes for being unable to help, but Simon reassures her that they'll figure something out.
 * This decreases Yhilin Acceptance by 1

Sarai
Sarai continues to grumble about her status, but explains that she managed to stop Andra from taking over the cathedral. The exact outcome depends on whether or not you blocked the Unperson Vote at the summit. (Note that since Victory Points are still being changed even after they were tallied up earlier, it might mean that there will be more uses for them later, so having more than just the 10 needed for a crushing military victory could be a good thing)
 * If it passed, the mobilization of Unpeople means Sarai's control is not complete
 * This reduces Victory Points by 1
 * If it was blocked, there aren't many Unpeople to interfere, and Andra is trapped, leaving Sarai in control of one of the main avenues of resistance
 * This increases Victory Points by 1

Simon and Sarai then have an interesting discussion about the role of religion in the Doom King's regime.

Trin
Trin didn't get to do much, unless you also copied the Big Man during Aka's route. If you did, Trin explains that her copy somehow managed act like a hero and "Got people together, kept order, and ultimately gave his life fighting some of the coup mercenaries." Interesting, unexpected, and completely confusing to Trin, but it also means that she now freed up one of her copy slots.

Varia
Reshaped Varia explains that she had fun getting up to her old tricks and managing a band of cutthroats again, while Dominated Varia stands around like a blood-soaked murderbot.

Yarra
Yarra congratulates Simon for taking over a country, and offers to help him out by seducing a commander who is refusing to stand down. Public displays of domination could upset the people but a subtle touch could do wonders. If Simon takes her up on the offer, he'll learn the results later, and her effectiveness depends on her relationship score: Once you've talked to everyone else, talk to Janine to go deal with the next round of problems.
 * 100: "...I have the enemy commander eating out of my hand." +1 to Yhilin Acceptance, -1 to Collateral Damage
 * 99 or lower: "...I think I freaked his entire battlion out..." +1 to Chaos, -1 to Yhilin Acceptance, +5 RP to Yarra

Aftermath II: Petty Petioner Problems
The Doom King holds court, then delegates the actual task of dealing with their petty problems to Janine and one of the army captains (Simon).

Dealing with them will frequently involve assigning soldiers to them from either Janine's royal army or Simon's orc army, and the amount of soldiers you have to work with can vary.

There are two counters, a Human counter and an Orc counter. Both start at 1. Each time you choose to use humans, the human counter goes down by 1, and each time you choose to use orcs (or succubi) the orc counter goes down by 1. You don't want to go below 0, but once one goes below 0 it doesn't really matter how far below 0 it goes, so if you're forced to overuse one army then use it relentlessly. Individual party members don't affect the counter.
 * If you hired the Dusty Horde after the Reunion, the Human counter increases by 1 to 2 since the Dusty Horde absorbs casualties against the coup forces (Bug?: No benefit is gained for hiring the Dusty Horde before the reunion)
 * If your Army Size is 20 or higher, the Orc counter is increased by 1 to 2

Ardan Ambassador
An Ardan delegation was sent but one group was waylaid by violence in Merchant's pass. If you rebuilt the bridge through Rebel's Pass, one group manages to get through and now needs an escort. The ambassador asks that the delegation be treated fairly, and who you choose to send will affect that. Sending a human escort will increase Yhilin Acceptance by 1, while sending an Orc escort will decrease Yhilin Acceptance by 1. If you didn't rebuild the bridge then the ambassador doesn't appear.

Dusty Horde Looters
If you never hired the Dusty Horde either before or after the Reunion then they finally did what they implied they were going to do- loot like the large mob of undisciplined jerks that they are. Their presence already increased Chaos and Collateral Damage back in the Assessment phase, and now you need to send a mob of human or orc soldiers to put them down. If you did hire them at some point than you don't have to deal with this (because they all died defending Janine from the coup.  RIP jerkbags).

House Adamant
House Adamant doesn't actually want your army, they just want to introduce themselves and get back to making money. However, if Aka resolved the Mine dispute by flooding it with demons, House Adamant requests that the Doom King do something about the demons so the mine can get back into operation again.

House Jade
House Jade has some "VERY important documents" that they need to get out of the city, and they want a military escort. It makes no difference if you send humans or orcs. However, if Aka did some serious work against them and got a Jade Sabotage score of 6 or higher, their representive doesn't show up and you don't have to deal with this!

House Rose
House Rose wants reassurance and support, and coming from the Doom King then it's going to be in the form of orc soldiers. However, if Simon paid the AriGarda to work for House Rose after the Reunion, then House Rose no longer needs orc soldiers. They are concerned about the Doom King's habit of murdering nobles, but Simon advises caution and insinuates that they may be able to work around the Doom King's whims to produce postive change. House Rose is cautiously intrigued.

House Thelon
House Thelon doesn't actually want your army either. They just need a healer because the head of the house was struck down by sexual magic. You have several choices, and will find out the results afterward.
 * Send no one: This gives -1 to Yhilin Acceptance, and the head probably dies.
 * Send Qum: This is the more complicated option, because it depends on Qum D'umpe's relationship and if Simon sold her out back in Stineford:
 * 99 or Lower: Qum cures the sick people, but not the big important man.  Everyone is sad.  -1 to Yhilin Acceptance, -1 to Collateral Damage
 * 100, and Qum was sold: She cures the sick, but not the head of the household.  Things are still sad.  -1 to Collateral Damage
 * 100 and Qum was not sold: She manages to cure everyone and showers them in kisses.  +2 to Yhilin Acceptance, -1 to Collateral Damage
 * Send Carina:  The house remains suspicious of her, but she is able to heal everyone.  -1 to Collateral Damage

Slum Rioters
There are still riots in the slums and this nobleman wants the army to take out the trash. Sending the royal army or the orcs can do the job, but for best results choose to "Send succubi" to calm everyone down (without turning it into an orgy), granting +1 to Yhilin Acceptance.

Unexterminated Orcs
If you blocked the Orc Extermination proposal, behold some actual consequences: orcs that probably need to be put down. It doesn't seem to make a difference if you send humans or orcs to make a counter-raiding party. If the Extermination passed then you don't have to deal with these guys- finally something useful happens!

After all the petioners have been dealt with, it's time to talk to Janine, and she'll tell you how you did.
 * Human counter and Orc counter at 0 or higher: "We didn't have to overextend either of our armies."
 * Human counter under 0: "It's a shame we had to spread out the royal army so much..." -1 to Yhilin secret score
 * Orc counter under 0: "It's a shame we had to use your orcs so heavily..." -1 to Yhilin Acceptance
 * Human counter and Orc counter under 0: "I'm worried about the fact that we spread out the royal army and overused your orcs..." -1 to Yhilin secret score and -1 to Yhilin Acceptance

Aftermath III: Get Some Rest
Hilstara gets to experience one of the perks of being a beloved commander of succubi forces, then it's over to Simon in the King's chambers. First you talk to whoever you sent to House Thelon, if you sent anyone at all, then you talk to Yarra if you sent her to seduce the commander. Finally, Aka has a request of her own for Simon, and he'd better take care of it!

That's it for now. Have a nice rest Incubus King, you definitely deserve it.