Far better than expected

As Byleth and his team got into position, he heard a voice call over the battlefield. "I'm sure you already understand, but the house that defeats the other two is declared the winner. Incidentally, I'll be overseeing this mock battle." It looked like Jeralt was officiating this mock battlefield. "Now... begin!"

Immediately, Edelgard headed towards the location of the Golden Deer, Dorothea taking cover behind her. Shez moved a bit more out in the open, while Linhart moved to nearby cover. As Byleth followed Edelgard, he noticed something very odd - Lorenz was charging their position with Ignatz in tow! It looked like the green haired archer was not expecting this, as he had to still finish getting his arrow notched. It seemed very unlike Claude to risk 2 of his 5 soldiers - in other words, it was likely Lorenz had chosen this plan of action on his own, and Ignatz had been dragged along as backup.

The two of them made for Shez - the closest target. Lorenz's spear thrust was parried well by his fellow merc, along with an expert counterblow, staggering him. Ignatz, on the other hand, seemed to be a crack shot with is bow, managing to hit Shez in her shoulder blade despite having had to gain his bearings on the way over. Shez almost moved to knock Lorenz out, before a burst of lightning fell on him from Dorothea, finishing the job. Shez then quickly moved and took Ignatz out of the running.

Byleth had Linhart move up a bit to heal Shez, when he spotted Ashe coming in from a distance. As he advanced closer it seemed like he was approaching alone. Dimitri must have wanted Ashe to act as bait in the hopes of luring them in. They had already defeated two of the Golden Deer, but it would be better if the Blue Lions didn't join the fray. "Keep up the plan!" He shouted before moving towards cover. waiting till Ashe had moved closer to attack him. Ashe retreated to cover in an attempt to lead him back, a training arrow hitting Byleth in the thigh, But Byleth merely retreated to cover, popping a vulnerary to keep himself going.

He chose to wait while trying to bait Ashe, which ended up paying off as he approached out of cover, his arrow missing Byleth as the new Professor rushed in and managed to take him out of the running. Unfortunately, this seemed to attract Dedue and Dimitri over, the two beginning to close in. As he started to retreat, another bolt of lightning came down and struck Dedue, Shez following up to take him down. Byleth smiled as he approached and exchanged blows with Dimitri. It didn't take long for the others to help best the house leader. "My training was insufficient... I am so sorry, everyone. The rest is up to you."

"How are things going with the Golden Deer?" Byleth asked his two students as they formed up. "Just Manuela left." Shez said as she handed him Claude's bow. After a quick patch up, Linhart and Edelgard are finishing up with her while we came over to back you up!" Dorothea nodded as she located cover. "There was a wall in the field Claude was taking potshots over, but a warp from Shez and enough axe blows took care of both problems. Hilda is good with that axe of hers, though." She rubbed her shoulder as she remembered her close call.

Byleth nodded as they found only Mercedes and Hanneman left, Hanneman taking a secure position inside a small structure. With a quick nod, they rushed the position, Dorothea and Byleth focusing on Hanneman while Shez moved towards Mercedes. Hanneman was a good mage, but when the cavalry arrived (LInhart and Edelgard, not on horseback) the two were quickly routed.

"All right, that's that! The winner of this mock battle is... The Black Eagle House!" Jeralt shouted through his magical device of some kind that amplified his voice, signaling the battles end.