Chapter 223: Discipline by Beatdown
As I closed in, Baron Valent kept glancing back, desperately trying to shake me, but he couldn’t outrun Mont Blanc. I wouldn’t be satisfied until I captured him and squeezed out at least 10 gold coins.
"AAARGH! Die, duchy knight!"
The gap kept shrinking, and unable to bear the pressure any longer, Valent screamed and wheeled around to face me. Rotten as he was, he was still a cavalryman who’d fought against Burgundy, and he chose to stand his ground.
Good. Fighting back was far better than sniveling and begging for mercy.
Crack!
I deflected his thrust with a sliding parry and smashed his helmet off with the blunt crossguard of my reverse-gripped cavalry sword. The Baron staggered as we crossed paths, then tumbled off his horse.
But there was a little blood on the crossguard of my cavalry sword.
What? Hitting him with that shouldn’t have broken the helmet.
I approached Baron Valent and saw his blood-soaked face. Yikes. I must have let my emotions get the better of me and done a number on his face.
Fortunately, he was still alive. If he died, I couldn’t collect the ransom. My men dismounted and bound the Baron. They also captured all the knights I’d brought down.
Baron Valent’s cavalry was annihilated.
Viktor’s calm command had been instrumental in making sure not a single one escaped. Out of roughly 100 men in Baron Valent’s cavalry, only about 30 survived. Our side had just 5 casualties.
All from the Essenbach cavalry.
[Gale Knight VI Quest Complete]
[Reward: 5,000 points, 5 gold coins awarded]
[Item Reward: Courage 200% Boost Scroll (one day) awarded]
Another day, another batch of points. My current total was 14,320. Since the war wasn’t over yet, I planned to save up as much as possible. I might end up burning through medical services.
And I needed to save this item for a critical moment too. It would have been great if it boosted the entire unit’s courage, but it only increased personal combat power. Using it would temporarily turn me into Lancelot.
"Don’t come any closer! You lowborn scum!"
"Come now, my lady. We just rescued you, and all we’re asking in return is a handmaid. Is that really so hard?"
"Disgusting wretches! Anton, bring Sir Streit here this instant!"
"But I was ordered to stand guard, so I can’t leave!"
What the hell was this commotion about? I’d gone down the hill to check on Angela, and the Essenbach dragoons had surrounded her carriage. Anton and the Gale Knights were desperately trying to hold them back.
The Euz cavalrymen spotted this and lost their minds.
"You sons of bitches! How dare you treat our lady like that!"
"What? What’s your problem? Gah!"
Wham! Wham wham!
A fistfight erupted between the Euz cavalry and the Essenbach dragoons. The Essenbach side had more men, naturally, but when the Belfort cavalry jumped in against the Essenbach riders too, it turned into a full-blown brawl.
What was I looking at right now?
Was this how cavalry behaved on the eve of battle?
My chest tightened. A sharp, heavy ache.
The vile, foul mood must have awakened the devil sleeping inside me.
"..."
"Uh, Commander? Should we break it up?"
A clueless Gale Knight started to ask me for orders, and Fiel quietly pulled him away. Fiel, who’d known me the longest, knew exactly what I was feeling right now. That’s right. I was absolutely livid.
I’ll break it up for them.
I’ll break them all, personally.
The thread I’d barely been holding together snapped, and I launched myself at the Essenbach dragoons. Instead of drawing a weapon, I threw a bare fist at one dragoon’s face, and the unguarded cavalryman went flying backward.
"You sons of bitches! Beat me and I’ll give you whatever you want! Come on!"
"Oho! Now that’s a real man! Finally someone who speaks our language!"
"Don’t forget that promise! Hrraaah!"
The clueless dragoons, thrilled as if this was the best thing that had happened all day, mobbed me. Every ounce of stress that had been piling up exploded, and I went full berserker mode, beating down every single one who came at me.
Like a wolf among sheep.
One tap and they’d drop like flies.
By the time I hit 50, the Belfort and Euz cavalry started watching me nervously.
Phew, getting a little tired here.
[Using medical service]
Here comes the tiger! Come get some, you bastards! Wham! Wham! I sent helmeted faces flying with my fists, kicked them in their soft spots until they were rolling on the ground, shook off group tackles in an instant, and slammed dragoons into the dirt.
By the time I hit 100, no more dragoons were willing to step up.
About 50 left, and nobody wants to go?
If they were going to make me burn through expensive medical services, I might as well get my money’s worth. Since they wouldn’t come to me, I went to them. I laid out nearly every dragoon like autumn leaves in the wind. Why were they being such babies about it?
I beat down every last one of them.
Angela and her handmaids, who’d been harassed, turned white as sheets, and the other cavalrymen couldn’t bring themselves to meet my eyes. The Gale Knights, however, looked downright proud.
Anton asked cautiously.
"Master, are you all right?"
"I’m fine. Feels great to blow off some steam."
From now on, if there were disobedient cavalrymen, I’d start by beating them down like this. Among allies, fists were far healthier than blades and a much easier way to force submission.
"Lieutenants, listen up."
"Y-yes, sir! Your orders!"
"Any of you have complaints? If you do, say so now."
"N-no, sir! We will obey your lordship’s commands until the day we return!"
They weren’t exactly looking at me like I was human, but so what? At least they wouldn’t be whining about spoils for a while. I’d been swallowing my anger dealing with their demands, and it had finally erupted into a full meltdown.
The cavalrymen whispered among themselves.
"What did I just see? Why are all the dragoons on the ground?"
"Never, ever make his lordship angry!"
"Even if I told the others, they wouldn’t believe it."
"Damn it, I should have bet on it!"
The guy who regretted not placing a bet? I memorized his face.
You’re getting a one-on-one deathmatch with me next.
Anyway, I left the Essenbach dragoons crawling on the cold ground and ordered the troops to collect the bodies and spoils of Baron Valent’s cavalry scattered throughout the forest. Then I approached Angela, who was fidgeting nervously.
"It’s been a while, Fräulein Euznirk."
"Call me Angela. You haven’t forgotten my name, have you?"
"How could I forget? I’m glad you’re safe."
"Thank you for saving me, Sir Streit."
Angela glanced at the dragoons and frowned.
"You keep rather rude subordinates."
"They’re not originally mine, but since they’ve temporarily become my subordinates, the responsibility for managing them falls on me. Please accept my apology on their behalf. Isn’t that sufficient?"
The dragoons rolling around on the ground were my gesture of apology.
Angela’s expression softened considerably.
"I’ll accept that. You were the only knight who acted like a true knight, Sir Streit. But why are you here instead of Feuzen? My brother is at Meriant right now. Oh! Did my brother send you to meet me? That’s quite the aggressive welcome party."
What was she talking about?
Angela was convinced her guess was right, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.
"No, I had no idea. I came through Baschurten into Euz and got lost. But more importantly, why were you traveling through a place like this, Angela? Did you know that Baron Valent was targeting you?"
"...Baron Valent was targeting me? How did you even know..."
It seemed like the first she’d heard of it. Then again, the cavalry that had suddenly appeared before her had been the Essenbach dragoons. Baron Valent’s cavalry had been wiped out without breaking through the encirclement. It made sense that she hadn’t seen them.
"I was heading to Feuzen on my brother’s orders."
"Hmm, our messages must have crossed."
"But if it hadn’t been for you, I would have been captured without a doubt. They would have used me to threaten my brother. Thank you for saving me, Gale Knight."
Angela seemed to have gotten even prettier since I last saw her.
Not that it mattered. She was still a 12-year-old kid.
