Medieval Knight System: Building the Strongest Empire Ever!-Chapter 77: They Were Bait

After resting, I scanned the surroundings again with the Commander Scouter. Burgundian light cavalry were detected not far away. Blue morale and 65 combat power. The light cavalry under my command had 75 combat power. And the enemy appeared to be fewer in number. I hurriedly mounted my horse.

"Everyone, mount up!"

[Gale Knight II Quest]

[0/5 Defeat Burgundian light cavalry attacking refugees]

[Reward – 5,000 points, 50 silver coins (hazard pay)]

[Family Prestige 200 points]

[Danger Rating ★★★☆☆]

A quest had been generated.

Meaning this was the real thing from here on.

Leading the light cavalry, I rode over the hill. A small number of enemy cavalrymen were attacking refugees below. I drew my cavalry sword and pointed it toward the Burgundian cavalry, who were indiscriminately trampling and cutting people down. Fiel took the vanguard. He was the only one among us carrying a lance and served as the vanguard leader.

"Lord, grant us the strength to defeat the enemy!"

Thud thud thud thud!

Fiel’s lance punched through a Burgundian cavalryman who couldn’t react in the confusion. Then cavalry swords, drawn in unison, swung in every direction, cutting down the Burgundian riders. The dozen or so enemy cavalrymen could do nothing but be overwhelmed.

I pursued a fleeing Burgundian cavalryman.

Schatten’s speed was tremendous.

Clang!

"Grrk!"

The Burgundian cavalryman I caught up to resisted with his cavalry sword, but I simply deflected the blade and redirected the stroke to stab his throat. His horse ran on while the rider slumped forward, spouting blood. Having annihilated the enemy cavalry in an instant, I searched for the next target.

With the remaining 5,000 points, I added a new function to the Commander Scouter—one called Optimal Route. If the existing morale analysis and combat power functions revealed enemy information and positions, Optimal Route literally displayed the best path for maneuvering cavalry swiftly.

Following that path, I led the light cavalry onward.

On top of that, with the F-Rank Cavalry Commander (breakthrough 20%, charge 20%) title, I was faster and hit harder. The Burgundian cavalry, too preoccupied with massacring and plundering refugees, spotted us and tried to withdraw quickly, but I didn’t give them the opening.

Though this group had more enemy cavalrymen than the first, they couldn’t withstand our light cavalry’s attack as we instantly penetrated their gaps. I swung my cavalry sword to cut down oncoming enemies and smashed my armored elbow into the face of a cavalryman closing in to unhorse me, knocking him from his saddle. Clad in plate, my entire body was essentially a weapon.

"Ahhh!"

After stabbing a fleeing enemy in the back with my cavalry sword and sending him tumbling from his horse, I had a moment to survey the field. August, who had killed four, and Fiel, who had crushed the enemy as vanguard, came riding up to me.

"Sir Streit! They’re running!"

"What should we do? Should we pursue?"

They awaited my orders. As the surviving Burgundian cavalry fled desperately, I studied the route they were retreating along—and froze. There was an ambush lying in wait near the hilly forest area. These bastards hadn’t just been attacking refugees; they were bait meant to lure in light cavalry like us.

"Reorganize the unit! Do not pursue under any circumstances!"

If there was an ambush, the answer was simple: don’t go near it. Without the scouter, flushed with the thrill of victory, I might have chased the fleeing cavalry straight into the trap. But I could detect the ambushers through the Commander Scouter—high morale, high combat power. I steered us clear of the danger.

My only targets were the Burgundian light cavalry.

After I ordered reorganization, the lieutenants reported casualties—fortunately no deaths, only five minor injuries. In other words, we had achieved excellent results against the Burgundian light cavalry. But the quest required me to engage enemies at five locations. This was only the second. It wasn’t over yet.

"Head south!"

Thud thud thud thud!

The Burgundian forces waiting in ambush would be left empty-handed, but I wasn’t foolish enough to charge headlong into a trap I had already discovered. I detected another Burgundian light cavalry unit attacking refugees not far away and made for them.

This refugee group was considerably larger. Judging by the many wagons, they might be wealthy nobles or merchants. Soldiers escorting the wagons were defending against the Burgundian cavalry’s assault, but their collapse was only a matter of time. Some cavalrymen circled mockingly around a luxurious carriage.

"Raise your swords high! Kill the French bastards!"

Once again, with cavalry swords raised, I drove my blade into the throat of a Burgundian cavalryman who was about to kill an escorting soldier. Blood scattered through the air, spattering my armor considerably. But no one cared about such trifles—killing the enemy before us was all that mattered.

"Reinforcements have arrived! Take heart!"

"Hold on a little longer!"

The escort soldiers resisted with renewed vigor.

The lieutenants hunted the enemy like demons.

August and Fiel, who had been following behind me, collided head-on with enemies targeting the luxurious carriage. Among these were knights in armor similar to mine. Not all cavalrymen were knights—especially among light cavalry, where the proportion of mercenaries was highest. Most of the enemy merely bore Burgundy’s quartered flag.

Clang! Clang clang!

"I am Clodis of Épinay! Who are you?!"

"Streit of Breisburg!"

"I’ll show you the greatness of Épinay’s knights by killing you! Hiyah!"

The knight of Épinay attacked with confidence. Knights in cavalry armor under his command followed close behind. As I clashed with the one called Clodis, August and Fiel engaged the subordinate knights. It became a three-against-three knight battle.

We clashed so fiercely that sparks flew, but I quickly realized the knight of Épinay relied on brute strength without any particular technique. When he swung diagonally downward with all his might, I deflected the blow outward while simultaneously driving the blunt pommel—the round knob at the sword’s end—into his jaw beneath the helmet. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Kugh, coward!"

The blow couldn’t deal major damage through the helmet, but having taken an impact to the jaw, the knight of Épinay staggered.

I wheeled my horse around to close with him again. As he tried to swing hard once more, I caught his elbow with my palm to block the downstroke while simultaneously lifting his foot from the stirrup. It was the very technique Hilda had used so skillfully to unhorse me.

"Ahhh!"

Already dazed from the blow to his jaw, his sense of balance was compromised. With the weight of his armor pulling him entirely to one side, the knight of Épinay finally toppled from his horse. I ordered my men to bind him. Most of the enemy cavalrymen had already been killed or had fled, and August and Fiel had subdued the knights they had been facing as well.

Having defeated the third Burgundian light cavalry unit without major losses, I ordered the troops to regroup. The horses were exhausted from fighting without rest. The fifty light cavalrymen had been reduced to forty. But the number of enemies we had killed appeared to exceed forty in return. As we regrouped, the owner of the wagons approached me.

"Thank you for saving us, sir knight! May I ask your name?"

"I’m called Streit. And who might you be? Where are you from?"

"Oh, Sir Streit! I’m a merchant from Strasbourg. I entered Euz territory not knowing a local conflict had broken out and very nearly met my end. Thank you for protecting my goods and my family!"

"Enemy light cavalry are still in the area, so hurry south."

The conversation seemed like it would drag on, so I cut him short and urged him to move quickly.

The merchant looked embarrassed but promised he would repay the favor before hurriedly departing with his caravan. It was already past noon. I staved off my hunger with jäger, a dried sausage. After letting the horses rest, I climbed a hill and surveyed the area through the Commander Scouter.

I detected roughly fifty Burgundian light cavalrymen.

They appeared to be searching for us.