The Pyrrhic Dynasty : A Makedonian AAR

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks for following, everyone.

Parthia is getting stronger, especially after they kick Saka around for a while. And by throwing so many troops at me, Media is only weakening themselves. The two seem to have a very strong alliance, though. I was thinking of roleplaying something going on between them in the future.

I've just been calling the Mediterranean the "Pontos Mesogeios" or "Mesogeios Sea", which means 'inland sea'. It probably isn't the best name for it. I don't know any greek, which is one of this AAR's weakest points. I'm not sure my empire has the same possessive attitude that the Roman empire had, so I'm not sure if 'our sea' would be appropriate.

I know all about the feelings toward the Ptolemaioi. The first third to half of this AAR (first section) is almost all about a war with the Ptolemaioi and their annoying antics. Ptolemai VIII is in his thirties or fourties at the point I'm playing and I haven't seen any new Ptolemaioi. P8 may be the last of his line and they will die off naturally.

The Iberians are Basileus Philippos V's long time enemy. The conquest of Iberia took place in chapters titled "Philip's War", after all. Finishing off his personal enemy may be too big of a chance to miss out on...

[everyone]

Thanks for following, everyone.

amazing I'm being talked about without even being here!
I like how you role-play events in your AAR, I can never seem to role-play anything in my games. it's always "oho! the enemy is doing something stupid and I can laugh at them for being so dumb huhuhuhu!" instead of "the enemy, being afraid of XXX general, avoided battle with him and decided to flee and etc" when I play EB.
and is Pella still your capital? I can never seem to hold the North African coast with Pella as my capital in my Mak campaign.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks, "everyone".

Pella is still my capital, for now. Pella is controlled by the corrupt council of nobles, though...

As for controlling North Africa, I cheated a little. I edited the EDB so that I can build Type2 anywhere and now I just roleplay where they get placed. The three provinces of "Africa" have Type2s. I also edited the bonuses of the Type3 so that they don't have the -15% on them. That is a big help in holding the other settlements of the region. It's a little bit of cheating but I just roleplay that there have been evolutions in the Makedonian government systems.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 87 : Mauretania

In making continued war with the Arche Makedonia and refusing to meet to discuss even the possibility for peace, the Numidians and Mauretanians had forced Philippos down the inevitable path of warfare. The inland regions of Lybia would be difficult to conquer and even harder to hold, but the coastal region from Karchedon to the Pillars of Hercules could easily be supplied and reinforced by the sea. The conquest of the coastal cities were both an effort to weaken Numidia-Mauretania and to punish them, but taking control of the region had been planned since the days of Neokles and would have been carried out at some point even without war in Numidia. With these cities and ports, the Arche Makedonia would have complete control of the Pontos Mesogeios and both sides of the Pillars of Hercules.

A few months earlier, Basileus Philippos V had taken his men west of the Pillars and besieged the city of Lixos. With a long list of goals to accomplish in his life and his youth fading, Philippos decides to take the city by force after only a couple months of siege:


Within the city is Theodekles Urso, head of the Urso family of Phoenician exiles. After the fall of Karchedon to Neokles and Pyrrhos, the Urso family had lead the force of exiles and had taken command of Numidian armies to spur the initial war with the Arche Makedonia. Now the young head of the Urso family cowers behind the walls of the underdeveloped city of Lixos.

Without any need to fear enemy archers or slingers, the bulk of Philippos' army simply marches forward with their rams to tear down the walls of the Mauretanian town:


The poorly built wooden wall quickly falls apart and Philippos orders the newly recruited men from Karchedon through the breach first. Seeking to prove themselves, they bravely charge through and face the lighter armed enemy:


Once the Mauretanians at the wall break, the bulk of the army of Philippos marches into the city. As they march toward the center of the city, however, Theodekles Urso charges his cavalry down the main city street and at the Makedones. Philippos' men brace themselves and absorb the charge, then go to the task of cutting through the heavy Phoencian cavalry:


During the fight Theodekles falls dead. His men fight bravely to recover the body but not a single one of his men live to the end of the day.

With their general gone, the remaining enemies retreat the city center but refuse to surrender. Attacking from all sides, Philippos' various Thorakitai surround and wipe out the rest of the city garrison:


Philippos takes few losses, kills a hated enemy, and takes a city:


With this, the coast of the Mesogeios Sea and beyond become part of the Arche Makedonia. Philippos goes about setting up a military government:


Both the exiled Karchedonoi and the Mauretanians suffer great losses, but the Numidians fight on. The city of Hippone is attacked once more:


And once more the people of Hippone defend their walls:


The hope of weakening the Numidians and Mauretanians by taking the coastal regions seem a failure, but the death of Theoekles Urso and the failure of the Numidians to come the aid of the Mauretanians begins to weaken the bonds holding the fragile alliance together.

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The Median War

After months of siege, the city of Babylon is attacked by the small army of Media outside her walls:


Keraton Apolloniates, son-in-law to King Isidoros Oresteus is left in charge of the city and in command of the garrison, now tasked with defending the ancient city.

The tiny Median force is far too overconfident and simply moves against the wall and its far superior number of defenders. The men of the east, trained in archery are quite accurate with their arrows and when ignited can hit all the vital points on a siege tower. It is only a matter of time before all the Median siege equiptment is destroyed or on fire:


Taking losses only due to heavy bolt throwers from the towers, Keraton wins an easy victory:


A few months later, as the cold air settles in northern Assyria, a small force tries to take the city of Arbela from the mix force of natives and Thraikioi settlers:


Just as at Bablyon, the siege equiptment is burned to the ground...


...and the Median army withdraws back over the mountains:


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As the Median Empire pushed into Babylonia, they continued to fight on their eastern front as well. Nikomachos, Basileus of the Arche Seleukeia and a band of his elite Agema had remained in the city of Persepolis when the bulk of the royal family fled east from the combined forces of the Medians and Pahlavans. Cut off from his family and reinforcements by a Pahlavan push to the sea, the old Basileus remained in his capital---Persepolis, capital of the Arche Seleukeia since the fall of Seleukeia during the reign of Aristotelis---and waited for his fate. Finally, a giant army of Media besieged the city and came over his walls. With the old Basileus fighting to the death, the city of Persepolis fell. For the first time since Megas Alexandros burned down old Persepolis, the lands of Persis are in the hands of an native people.

Cut off from the west, the remnants of the Seleukid royal family takes shelter in the far reaches of Arachosia, where they are more of exiles than rulers. Molon, elder brother of Nikomachos takes the title of Basileus but for the first time in a century, there is no real power behind it:


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The known world in 147BC:

Next: Chapter 88 : Between Tasks

[Tyrfingr]

The baktrians, shouldn't they be re-styled into a Greco-indian kingdom with a new colour? At least I think so...great update btw!

[Cbvani]

I wonder if you will ever confront the Saka menace?

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

I've actually already renamed them, as seen in this screenshot from a couple chaptes ago:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I thought about recoloring them but I wouldn't want them reddish because of Saka nearby, I wouldn't want them Greenish so they wouldn't look like the now defeated Gandhara, white wouldn't work because of AS nearby, and I wouldn't want them violetish because of Pahlava and Media nearby. They can't be black because that's my color. The only basic color choices left would be yellow, or blue and yellow didn't seem right. I thought about recoloring them a different type of blue, but it was easier just to keep them the same. Didn't think you'd get such a long winded explaination for that one, did you?

If things go as they are going now, there may not be a Saka left by the time I expand that far...

[julius_caesar_the_first]

Congratulations on turning the Mediterranean into your own personal swimming pool:P.

Great update, as always. Keep up the good work.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

To: Lord and master of all AARs MAA

I have been following this for quite some time and i must say.. it would not be very hard to turn this into a successful historical fiction novel. Plz keep it up.

BTW for lulz

M04R THR34D N04UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PriestLizard]

Needless to say that this is epic
Will you expand to the very east like Megas Alexandros did? If so, you still have a lot of work to do

[HunGeneral]

Nice Pool you have there

I wonder what's next on the agenda

[Cbvani]

What I love most about this epic is how it is more than an AAR. It tells of an alternate history of Europe - a very cool alternate history, too.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks for the support.

I have been meaning to update, but it's exam season and I've been busy. My winter breaks starts tuesday, though.

As for what comes next, the Arche still has a tin shortage, the Medians are still rampaging, and Ptolemai VIII still has one army remaining. As hinted by the next chapter name, Basileus Philippos V has completed his goals in Numidia/Mauretania and takes a short break before his next task.

I haven't updated, but I've been playing the campaign some (after a decent break from playing) and been having trouble. I tried to create a challenge for myself and it backfired. The challenge turned out to be more than I expected and it occured right when other problems hit. It's been fun, though.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 88 : Between Tasks

With the fall of Lixos and the defeat of the Ptolemaic armies in Kush, both Basileus and heir of the Arche Makedonia find themselves in a time of rest and relative inactivity. The Numidian front had quieted down and the Nubian front would have a slight rest, but events occur elsewhere in the Arche and the Median War war continues in full force.

Basileus Philippos takes some time to manage events in the Arche and prepare his men for his next move. Most troubles and minor issues were dealt with by Sotades in Syria, the noble council in Pella, or by the relatives of Pyrrhos II in northern Italia, but Philippos makes sure to be up-to-date on all issues and give orders where royal intervention is necessary. Philippos is especially careful to remind the noble council of Pella that he is still in charge and aware of what is going on in Makedonia.

During this lull, a couple deaths became an issue. In Aigyptos, Philagros Grenideus dies in Memphis:


With the earlier death of his brother, this leaves but one member of the Grenideus family in Aigyptos, and he is tasked with holding the forts at Pselkis. Fearing what may happen in a leaderless Aigyptos, Philippos orders his two son-in-laws---who had been studing in Alexandreia---to take control of the Aigyptos satrapy.

Although not a Makedone, the death of the Hellenized Phoenician King of Ioudaia is a matter of even greater concern. After a long reign, Asphalion III dies in Hierosolyma:


With the death of their tyrant, the Ioudaioi grasp at the chance for independence and form a disorderly uprising. The uprising only manifests itself as disorderly riots in several cities. The revolts end up costing the lives of more Ioudaioi and causing the destruction of Ioudaioi property than doing much damage to the local garrisons or Makedonian leadership:


With concent from Philippos, Sotades quickly raises Asphalion's son to the position of King of Ioudaia and the rioting begin to quiet. Promising lowers taxes certain religious rights, Asphalion IV wins over the Ioudaioi and reestablishes order:


Just over the River Iordaine, Chrysoloras Delphikos finally settles down. After a lifetime of warfare, Chrysoloras and his klerouchoi finally return to their homes near Bostra and prepare for a lifetime of peace. However, fearing the fall of the client city-states along the west coast of Arabia and a renewed invasion attempt by the Kingdom of Sab'yn, Chrysoloras makes sure he has a great number of klerouchoi he can call to action at a moment's notice:


To the north, Sotades gathers an even greater wealth in his administration of Syria, though not through corruption as his brother Euphrantos does:


The issue of what is to be done with Euktimenos Demetrios and the army he is raising in Assyria remains on the mind of Sotades. Just to the east, Euktimenos continues to raise men and study the ways of warfare. Although Euktimenos is loyal in nature and sworn an oath to Philippos, in the mind of Sotades, it seems only natural that the last of the Demetrid line intends to restore his birthrite:


A significant plague hits Epidamnos during this time, but does not last very long or take too many lives:


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In Arabia, the Aigyptoi army and Hellenic envoys set out on a journey the east. The regions and tribes around the Sab'yn are quite loyal to the Kingdom of Sab'yn but the desert villages and towns to the east continue to suffer under the rule of the Sab'yn. Seeing the oppertunity of breaking these lands from the Kingdom of Sab'yn, the army sets out on a trek across the desert:


Soon after the Aigyptoi leave, the city of Carna is once again besieged by the armies of the Kingdom of Sab'yn. Not only does the jouney of the Aigyptoi drastically reduce the number of men guarding the city but also removes a great deal of supplies that are needed by the Aigyptoi on their desert journey:


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The Median War

In the east, the Median Empire had conquered Persis and had begun modelling itself as the reborn Persian Empire. Together with the expansionistic steppe tribes that had conquered eastern Iran, they had built themselves into a force that could challenge or even outshadow the greatness of the Arche Makedonia. An advantage the Medes have over the Makedones is also their unity. The Medes, Persians, and Iranians are all a similar people with similar culture (though not entirely identical or perfectly compatible). Even the steppe conquerers in the east are of a similar culture to the Medes. The Arche Makedonia, on the other hand is made of a many differing peoples, cultures, languages, and ideas, many of which wish for their independence and require Makedonike military garrisons to be kept in order.

In Babylonia is one such people wishing for their independence. Ruled by Persia, the Seleukids, the Antigonids, and finally suffering greatly under the taxation and conscription of the Demetrids during the Makedonian Civil War, the Babylonians wished for their own independence. Ironically, this independence was found in the Makedone Isidoros Oresteus, who conquered the city of Babylon from the Demetrids and declared himself king in the name of its people. As the Makedonian Civil War drew to a close, Isidoros swore an oath of loyalty to Philippos who left him as king, hoping the buffer state would avert a war with Media.

That war was not averted and the Medes had marched not only against the client kingdom of Babylonia but also against Makedonian Assyria and Armenia. With his slowly deminishing but elite force stationed in Seleukeia, King Isidoros Oresteus once again fights off an invastion from Media:


The Medes move their towers against the walls of Seleukeia and their Persian elites infantry face Isidoros' Babylonian elite infantry upon the walls of the great city:


The archers, however, soon set both enemy towers on fire and isolate the small Median force that is already on the walls:


The towers are not the only problem. By undermining the walls, the Medes bring them down. While the last of the Medes on the walls fight to the death, a new force charges through the holes in the walls:


A force of Babylonian elites is ready to greet their attackers and push them back to the breach:


Once again, Isidoros defeats a Median army and secures his Babylonian Kingdom. His losses, however, are difficult to replace:


To the far north, the Medes try to take Makedonian Albania but are confronted by an army of steppe cavalry mercenaries:


Upon seeing the great number of horsemen coming out from the city, the Medes break and flee. Although, many are caught by the horses and fall dead before they can get away:


In what is hardly even a battle, the land of Albania is saved from Median threat:


A while later, an army of cavalry and levies attacks the city of Arbela:


The enemy brings but one tower. When it reaches the walls the defenders think all is lost, but at the last minute, the archers' flaming arrow manage to set it on fire:


Another minor battle saves Assyria from Median invasion:


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To the south, the army of Sab'yn tries to take the allied city of Carna by force. Now only depending on Aithiopioi and Arab forces to defend it, the young king of Carna is put to his first true test:


The large number of Sab'yn troops march against the walls of the city. The archers and slingers upon the walls have easy targets in their unarmored enemy. The towers and ladders get to the walls, but by this time the Sab'yn have already taken great numbers of casualties:


The Aithiopioi spearmen fight off the Sab'yn troops, who are easily broken. Once again, the lack of sufficiently armoring their men, costs many Sab'yn soldiers their lives. The king of Carna, however, claims all the credit and gains the trust of his people:


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During this time, Basileus Philippos V does not simply sit in the city of Lixos. Most of the time is infact spent in Karchedon, where he had easy access to information about the rest of the Arche. After a while, he makes a trip to Syrakousai and arranges with the local government to raise an army in Sikilia. He then takes his fleet back to Mauretania and mets up with his army. They immediately sail north and land in southern Iberia.

It had been more than twenty years since Philippos had been in Iberia. He had left just after conquering the Lusotanni and the Arevaci and very little had changed since then. The central lands of the Iberian penninsula are garrisoned by Makedonian military but hardly governed in any sort of organized manner. The coastal regions and Turdulia had been converted to satrapies, but in the center of the penninsula there is little Makedonian control outside of the areas patrolled and garrisoned directly by Makedonian and her allies' troops. In some places, rebel armies even wander the lands.

Seeking to get the region under control, Philippos attacks and destroys two separate rebel armies. The second rebel army, south of Nomantia, is particularly important, for that region is rich with iron ore:


After defeating the rebels, Philippos put the local mines under direct Makedonian control and has the iron exported east to the sea. The iron helps with the metal shortage in the Arche but it is not nearly enough to make up for the past losses, besides it is tin that is truely needed. Philippos has plans to relieve this particular shortage and orders his army to prepare to march once again.

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The known world in 146BC:

Next: Chapter 89 : Desert Wars

[Kuningaz]

A real great chapter indeed I think I'll start reading this whole AAR again from the beginning to sort of remind me of what happened, its so much I just love this

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Very good chapter MAA. I myself have FDed the Sabyn to a peace treaty, and since then I am looking out for their armies of freed slaves, and if they seem to head to my borders, I beam them to Eremos or Somalia. I guess this is kind of cheating... But it just seems so unrealistic, I can't stand to see the Sabyn seeking for suicide with nothing but a bunch o rubbish after I have destroyed all the Sabyn core cities. Perhaps in 20 years I will allow them action again.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks.

If there are any questions no matter how esoteric, random, or old just ask.

I think I'm going to have to force the Sab'yn into a fake peace too. They are definately one of the factions that doesn't know when to quit.



This last chapter had a lot of foreshadowing in it about many different upcoming events. Many changes are coming...

[julius_caesar_the_first]

I tried to create a challenge for myself and it backfired. The challenge turned out to be more than I expected and it occured right when other problems hit. It's been fun, though.

I'm really curious what this challenge is. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary in this chapter but that's probably because it hasn't appeared yet.

I can barely wait for the next update and see what new things you did.

[HunGeneral]

I quess I lost the time.

Which year is your campaign in?

If I remember right then we could start talking of a "Century of War" (of course full with Macedonian Victories)

Reading so many EB AAR's I've come to realise that if I woldn't know it was a mod based on RTW i might easeli think it was a New part of the Total War series...

[Subotan]

I've been lurk-reading this AAR for a while now, maybe a couple of months, but I'd just like to say thank you for providing such a great story. It's clear that you put a lot of dedication into this, and that this probably eats up huge amounts of your time. I have a lot of fun reading this, and I'm sure you have a lot of fun making it (If you don't, please stop!), and the fact that this has been made with one of the best games ever made (IMHO) only makes this better. You have the roleplay at just the right level (I.e. Not too much or too little), and I hope that you continue it until the Arche reaches the end of it's time. *Thumbs up*

Anthony

P.S. Will you only achieve Thalassokratia when you conquer the tiny bit of Sauromatae territory on the Black sea?

P.P.S. Could you possibly do an overview of the history of the Arche up to this point (Maybe a Makedonian Tacitus? ^_^ ), complete with family tree, and the location and personalities of the current members please? Thanks!

[Europe]

Thanks.

If there are any questions no matter how esoteric, random, or old just ask.

I think I'm going to have to force the Sab'yn into a fake peace too. They are definately one of the factions that doesn't know when to quit.



This last chapter had a lot of foreshadowing in it about many different upcoming events. Many changes are coming...

So what’s your favourite part of the AAR?

Who would win in a field battle, Philippos or Megas Demetrios?

Do you regret defeating the romani faction?

What’s the meaning of life?

[SwissBarbar]

I quess I lost the time.

Which year is your campaign in?

If I remember right then we could start talking of a "Century of War" (of course full with Macedonian Victories)

Reading so many EB AAR's I've come to realise that if I woldn't know it was a mod based on RTW i might easeli think it was a New part of the Total War series...

its 146BC , you can always read at the end of a chapter

[HunGeneral]

its 146BC , you can always read at the end of a chapter

I thought I missed something.

Thinking back on the start of all this I gotta say this was one stunning (alternative) history of a century.

[Aemilius Paulus]

besides it is tin that is truely needed.

Tin eh? I know where you could find some tin....

[Cbvani]

It seems eastward expansion has stopped. You're looking for resources - so ... wait I got it you're about to pull a Caesar and take France, then get a trade agreement with the Casse?

[Kuningaz]

Pah, trade is not the way of the Makedonians, he will conquer the island of tin!

[HunGeneral]

That would be astounding if he could take the Isles of Tin (macedonians in London - what a discovery) but there has to be a source of metal or tin somewhere closer. After all MMA sad it would be hard to keep thoose province under control (with Pella as the Capital).

Wit so much effort he could just as well take the rest if Iberia or Philipposes son could lead a naval expedition to conquer India (atleast they know about where that is).

In his place I wouldn't settle with just trade - it makes you dependent on those who give the tin

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks for all the comments/questions/compliments.

I'm in 141BC currently in my campaign and the problems are just starting. So expect to see the "challenge" in the last third of the 140's. Since I'm getting around one chapter per year, it may be a couple chapters away. Though, I'm going to try and increase the speed of this AAR and include less info about all the stupid sieges I'm fighting. I'm really getting bogged down with the Median War. I'm going to try and just give an overview of that part and focus on things that Philippos, Alypios, and the Aigyptoi are doing.

I do enjoy writting this and would definately stop if I didn't. I'm not sure where the end of this will be, but I really don't see myself continuing much more after conquering all of Persia. Though, the conquest of Persia might not be completed for another hundred years.

I did finally get around to taking Tanais...

For an overview of the Antigonid Dynasty, see the first page. I'll see if I can't get an overview in a couple chapters or so of the evens of the Pyrrhid Dynasty thus far. As for the family tree, I'll give a short explaination: The family tree is devided into four branches, that of Alexandros (nephew of Antigonos) and the branches of the three sons of Antigonos: Alkyoneus, Demetrios, and Euboulides. (1) Alkyoneus had two sons who had no sons, so his line ended. (2) Demetrios' line was reduced to (Basileus) Neokles and Bykoli just before the civil war, with many in-laws. When Neokles died, all of the in-laws of the Demetrios line joined Bykoli. Because of this, I killed off that entire branch of the family. Only two descendants of Demetrios still live and neither are of direct male line. (3) Euboulides had one son. He was one of the ones who was trying to become Basileus at the beginning of the civil war but mysteriously died. Because of this, his two sons joined Pyrrhos. His two sons (Herakles and Anaxagoras) are two of the important family members that I'm following, both are in Bosphoria right now. (4) Finally, there is the Alexandros branch of the family. Originally, governors of Epeiros and Illyria, it was this branch of the family that fought the Romaioi War. The majority of this branch of the family governs Illyria, Italia, Gallia, and Iberia but none are really individually important, other than the family of Pyrrhos. Pyrrhos is from this branch and because of heroics in the Romaioi War and the Karchedon War, the noble council asked him to become Basileus. He had four sons (Sotades, Philippos, Euphrantos, and Laandros), who are all being followed in this AAR. Sotades is loyal and seeks no power, he governs Syria and the east. Philippos is the Basileus. Euphrantos is corrupt and has many vices, he governs Makedonia and is easily influenced by the noble council. Laandros is considerably younger than the other brothers, he governs Hellas and though seemed to be more like Euphrantos in his youth has developed into a great leader, he is friends with Anaxagoras.

I'm not quite sure what my favourite part of the AAR is, but I like making all the complex changes like the civil war or new units/reforms.

Demetrios and Philippos fought with different army types. Demetrios used mostly phalangitai and resisted the Thorakitai, it only joining the Makedonian roster after his death, whereas Philippos using armies heavy in Thorakitai and heavy infantry. A terrain that favors non-phalangitai warfare would be in Philippos' favor, other than that though, I would think Demetrios would win. I amagine Demetrios as the better commander on the field, where as Philippos' strengths lie in organization, though Demetrios was strong there as well.

The Romaioi would never have quieted down and accempted their lower status. They had to be defeated to bring peace to Italia. Though I am roleplaying that the Senate still exists and rules central Italia as a Makedonian client-state.

The meaning of life? To play EB?

Philippos is now in his 60's, so he doesn't have time on his side, especially considering that he has huge plans to change the the Arche from the inside out. I kind of illuded to some of the things that are up coming but they are subtle. As for Gallia and Britain, those would take a lifetime to conquer and subjugate.

...big post...

[General Appo]

I think I can guess what at least some of these troubles will be. Though I won´t say. Mainly not to spoil anyone´s fun, but...well, I just don´t wanna be proven wrong.

I must say I am a bit worried about Phillipos age. He could die at almost any time. Leaving Alypios to succeed him. And even though Alypios certainly appears to be at least a pretty okay general and decent guy, I´m not sure how much he knowns about empire governing.
My worries are doubled by the fact that Alypios is so far south with little to no ways to control much of the Arche Makedonia. The corrupted council of nobles might just choose to take advantage of this.
Worrying indeed.

Wait, did I just reveal what I believe to be one of the possible troubes? Oh no!
Well, I still don´t believe Phillipos will die for at the very least...5 chapters, probably more. MAA would have hinted mroe about it otherwise. Unless he´s playing us all for fools.

[Europe]

The meaning of life? To play EB?

Heheheh Good answer

That should be a EB loading screen quote