If you could see this danger warning popping up periodically, you’d be nervous too. My unusual demeanor seemed to have thrown Fiel off as well. I was definitely going to need the Courage Scroll.

Better safe than sorry. I had no desire to charge blindly at a red-tier monster and die a pointless death.

[Using Courage Scroll. Duration: 24 hours]

Hm? It felt like strength was surging through my entire body. The rush was so intense I didn’t even feel like myself anymore. Power was overflowing so much that I felt like I could crumple plate armor with my bare hands.

When I checked Leto again with the Manager Scouter, his danger level had dropped to yellow. Unbelievable. Even after using the 200% boost scroll, he was still a tough opponent. Good thing I’d used it.

The strongest warrior among the Swiss mercenaries? The Swiss Confederation was a far larger nation than Beren. It had been steadily expanding its territory by invading neighboring lands, thanks to its mercenaries.

This had put it on bad terms with the imperial court.

It clashed frequently with Bavaria and the Duchy of Lombardy in particular, and the only reason it hadn’t touched Beren was that it didn’t want to share a border with Burgundy.

I wouldn’t want to butt heads with the world’s current strongest power either.

Anyway, I emphatically told Fiel to avoid blocking attacks head-on and to dodge while attacking. A monster that was still yellow-tier even with the Courage 200% Scroll couldn’t be fought conventionally.

Fiel’s pride had been stung, but now he seemed genuinely curious.

"Is this Executioner of Zurse really that strong?"

"They say he’s called the strongest among all Swiss mercenaries."

"The strongest... I can feel my fighting spirit rising."

Fiel seemed like he genuinely wanted to fight. He was a righteous and straight-laced man, but as someone born into a warrior family, he apparently had an instinct to test himself against the strong. We differed on that.

If it were me, I’d surround him and wear him down.

Taking on a monster like that head-on was the worst option.

No matter how strong someone was, nobody could withstand being mobbed. If you surrounded him with long spears and jabbed away, could anyone hold out? If I’d brought the Feuzen gunners, I would have ended it with bullets.

But in the current situation, I couldn’t stop an operation already set in motion, and regardless, we had to charge into enemy lines and cut through whatever was in our way. Benjamin, leading the Offenburg Knights, looked supremely confident.

Raaah!

The Basel forces at the front advanced, and the battle finally began. The Basel infantry, leading with a wall of spears, surged forward with enough momentum to crush the Euz levies in one push.

The enemy had to know it too.

Anyone could see they were barely above farmer militia level.

Through the Commander Scouter, our troops’ combat power showed 50 with morale at yellow. The enemy infantry, by contrast, averaged 70 or above across the board. Their morale shone blue, extremely high.

Normally, a cavalry charge to shatter the formation was the standard approach, but the Basel forces had no heavy cavalry. Our side had the Offenburg Knights, but the enemy had the Swiss mercenaries in phalanx formation.

So a cavalry charge would be pointless.

But this battle’s outcome would ultimately be decided by the cavalry.

[Gale Knight VII Quest]

[Capture the Count of Basel]

[Reward - 10,000 points, 10 gold coins]

[Item Reward - Courage 200% Boost Scroll (1 day)]

[Danger Rating ★★★★☆]

==

[Executioner of Zurse I Recruitment Quest]

[Survive the Executioner of Zurse]

[Reward - 20,000 points, 20 gold coins]

[Increased relationship with the Executioner]

[Danger Rating ★★★★★]

Two quests had been generated at once.

And the danger ratings were brutal. But wait, a recruitment quest?

Unfortunately, there was no time to examine them closely.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

The Offenburg Knights moved out. Benjamin, who’d been watching for the right moment, gave the signal the instant he judged the timing was right. They galloped to the left as if swinging wide around the flank.

I immediately set my cavalry in motion and fell in behind them. We were, after all, the hammer hidden in the Offenburg Knights’ shadow. I raised my lance, ready to punch through the reserves surrounding the Basel command post.

The enemy cavalry on Basel’s right flank moved to intercept. Most of their horsemen rode out to meet the charge. When the dust kicked up was so thick you could barely see, Benjamin launched his attack.

"Show these feeble southern weaklings the might of Offenburg!"

Crack! Crack!

Aaargh!

Gaaah!

The heavy cavalry’s power was tremendous. The Basel cavalry that met them head-on shattered like glass, but their numbers were still roughly even. While the cavalry forces clashed, we swung sharply to the right.

The massive dust cloud raised by the cavalry, combined with fierce winds, concealed our movements like a smokescreen. By the time our presence was revealed, the infantry of both sides had already collided.

The only ones in front of us were the reserves.

The world seen through the slit of my visor was narrow, but I could see the enemy was thoroughly caught off guard. Hastily forming a defensive line against cavalry was far easier said than done.

My grip tightened on the lance.

The instant we hit, we pierced through the reserves and broke clear.

Raaaaaah!

Crack! Crack!

We were able to trample the enemy because most of the reserves were lightly armored and hadn’t managed to form a proper defense. Riding past soldiers crushed mercilessly under lance and hoof, we finally reached the guard detail.

The dragoons ruthlessly attacked the broken reserves, fighting tooth and nail for the glory and the sweet spoils that would come from capturing the Count of Basel. The rear of the Basel forces around the command post had already descended into chaos.

With my overflowing strength, I brought my cavalry sword down on a reserve soldier’s neck.

In the melee, a routed enemy was nothing more than easy prey for cavalry.

The Swiss guards protecting the Count of Basel finally moved. Leto, halberd in hand, brought its axe head crashing down on an approaching dragoon’s chest.

The cavalry armor crumpled like paper in an instant.

"Gaaah!"

The dragoon sprayed a fountain of blood as he was knocked from his horse.

The other dragoons, enraged by the sight, rushed in.

But the halberd’s spear tip skewered a dragoon through the abdomen, lifted the body into the air, and hurled the corpse aside. Then Leto spun toward the next charging dragoon with a massive windmill swing.

The dragoon’s breastplate caved in completely as if struck by a giant hammer, and the man literally went flying. I’d been cutting down reserve soldiers, but watching that display, I was left speechless by the sheer, absurd power.

"Viktor! Go for the Count of Basel! Fiel, follow me!"

If I let him keep rampaging like that, all my men would die. I didn’t particularly care about the dragoons dying, but when I saw the Gale Knights surrounding Leto and moving to attack, I stepped in.

"I am the lord of Feuzen!"

"..."

No response. Rude mercenary. The halberd in his grip swung in a wide arc and came crashing down toward me. I kicked Mont Blanc’s flanks hard, and the horse’s reflexes saved me as it dodged.

Crash! It felt like the ground itself had been cratered.

What the hell kind of monster was this guy?