Manfred
| NPC | Enemy | Trivia |
| “ | Kill me? With these grotesques of yours, barely able to lift themselves off the ground? You know that even if the Gargoyles of the Royal Court stood here, they might not be victorious against me? | ” |
| —Manfred to Mandragora, making a testament of his power. |
Manfred is an NPC in Arknights. He is one of the main antagonists in Act II of the Main Theme.
Background
Manfred is a high-ranking general of the Kazdel Military Commission and the leader of Regent Theresis' forces in Londinium. A trusted and upstanding student of Theresis alongside Ascalon, Manfred is given a major role in managing the occupation of the Victorian capital, overseeing the production of weapons for the Sarkaz mercenaries, and the training of their forces. His sheer vigilance and profound tactical acumen earned him a respected and frightening reputation among his allies and foes alike, although some of the Sarkaz Royal Court still looks down upon him.
Three years prior to the occupation of Londinium (the year 1095), Manfred met Hoederer and defeated him, sparing his life and recruiting him, albeit with the latter losing his left eye in the conflict, something Manfred appears to regret. In the present, Manfred treats Hoederer as a trusted friend while retaining some suspicions on him due to his past as a loyalist for Theresa. Even then, he is willing to converse with Hoederer at length and entrust him with key tasks.
In addition to possessing incredible physical strength and speed along with his profound military experience, Manfred wields the "Teekazwurtzen",[1] a special Arts unit gifted to him by Theresis, to perform long-ranged energy manipulation Arts capable of suddenly striking from out of nowhere with explosive shockwaves and bolts of energy, as well as scattering invisible "beacons" to catch and detonate his attacks. Manfred is also an accomplished swordsman, having trained directly under Theresis himself.
Story
Episode 10
Manfred is first seen talking with Hoederer while overseeing the preparation of the Londinium Secondary Defense Artillery. While discussing Hoederer's past, the rebels that his men have just detected, and the ongoing fight between the Sarkaz and Dublinn, Manfred expresses disapproval of Mandragora's overzealousness and hatred towards the Sarkaz, mentioning that he's looking for a way to take Dublinn out of the picture. When it comes time to fire the artillery, Manfred is impressed by its power and notes potential improvements, intent on improving the weapon's performance and continuing the bombardment to force Eartha out of hiding, while also pondering the difficulty of the task laid out before him.
Manfred later meets up with Mandragora, who apologizes for the conflict Dublinn instigated with the Sarkaz at the port. Manfred informs her that as long as Dublinn does not interfere with their operations, they are free to occupy their designated area of Londinium. However, he also expresses disapproval with her actions, and asks her to show him that Dublinn is sincere about their cooperation. To that end, he appoints her and her men to guard a Sarkaz-occupied liquor plant where he suspects Eartha will attack.
After meeting with a spy, Manfred attends the ensuing battle at the liquor plant and confronts Horn and her squad of survivors, addressing her by her title "White Wolf of Victoria". Despite their efforts, Manfred easily overwhelms the squad, but just as he is about to kill Horn, Misery appears and rescues her, sinking Manfred and his men into the ground with his spatial Arts. Manfred remains composed and prepares to counterattack, but Misery disappears with Horn and her soldiers before Manfred can retaliate.
Manfred later encounters Mandragora and her men, who are trying to rescue a Dublinn spy from Sarkaz custody and escape Londinium. His men slaughter all of the Dublinn forces, enraging her into attacking Manfred head-on as she curses him. However, Manfred handily defeats her; even after Mandragora combines all of her available Tombkeeper Grotesques into an enormous golem, a single strike of Manfred's sword is enough to instantly destroy it. With Mandragora at his mercy, Manfred indirectly informs her that her beloved Leader has already left her for dead thanks to her blind rage compromising Dublinn's objectives. With that, Manfred spares the devastated and critically wounded Mandragora before leaving.
Once the Damatzi Cluster uncovers Eartha's main base, Manfred orders a full-scale artillery bombardment on the area to completely annihilate the rebels. When Rhodes Island and Eartha executes their plan to escape and disable the artillery, Manfred is already waiting for them atop the citadel. Amiya battles Manfred as his wide-range Arts suppress the Rhodes-Eartha coalition, but is overwhelmed as Manfred berates her for not understanding the true suffering of the Sarkaz. Nonetheless, Amiya holds him off long enough for Horn to return with a small group of Victorian soldiers, occupying him as Amiya and the others head for Londinium's defense gun.
Manfred quickly gains the upper hand, singlehandedly taking down Horn's comrades one by one with ease, breaking the Lupo's formation. Enraged, Horn fires all her remaining bullets at once at Manfred, only briefly stopping him. Out of ammunition and remaining comrades, Horn draws out her sword, the sword that Steam Knights use, prolonging the battle. Some time during the duel, Manfred realizes that the Lupo's presence is only to buy time for Rhodes Island's plan; but at that point, it's too late, as Londinium's wall and defense gun are destroyed by the violent explosion from the bombs installed by Rhodes Island's squad, with the Doctor being the detonator. Seeing that the plan succeeded, Horn collapses onto the ground due to her finally running out of strength. Since there is nothing Manfred can do now, he orders his troops to retreat, ending the duel. Before Manfred retreats, however, he compliments Horn and spares her, saying she is a worthy opponent.
Episode 11
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References
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