Medieval Knight System: Building the Strongest Empire Ever!-Chapter 68: Blood and Ransom

Throwing the rear of the Burgundian army into chaos wasn’t particularly difficult, given how poorly armed they were compared to the duchy army. If you strike at an effective moment, weighing the enemy’s morale and combat power together, you can break them down with ease. Of course, this is me boasting. Not just anyone can pull it off.

As the Burgundian army collapsed, the duchy army began pressing forward.

The Burgundian cavalry’s numbers had dwindled considerably, and when the main force fled, they ran as well. The Beren lancers, reduced from ten to five, chose to attack the fleeing Burgundian infantry from behind rather than chase the retreating cavalry—routed infantry were easy prey and guaranteed achievements.

Easy prey indeed.

Nothing was simpler than cutting down infantry who had turned their backs and were running. The cavalry I led concentrated our attacks on the center. Fleeing in disarray, the Burgundian soldiers no longer obeyed commands, and soon even the commanders began running. The quartered flag toppled to the ground without ceremony.

"Putain! Hold formation, don’t run!"

"Sir Plessis! We have to flee!"

"Ta gueule! If you’d properly learned the route!"

"I-I’m sorry!"

I spotted a French knight shouting commands desperately.

But I could understand what he was saying.

Understanding German and Latin was one thing, but French too?

Could I understand Spanish as well?

In any case, what mattered now was capturing the commander rather than chasing the fleeing enemy. I signaled Fiel, and Fiel relayed a hand signal to Eisenach. We left the frantically scattering Burgundian soldiers behind and charged toward the command unit that hadn’t yet fled.

Thud thud thud thud!

The Burgundian knights spotted us bearing down on them. They seemed to choose battle over flight. Despite numbering only five, they charged to meet us. I passed by and cut the arm of the knight swinging a cavalry sword at the front, and right behind me, Fiel’s blade found the man’s neck and sent him tumbling from his horse.

Clang! Clang!

Thud!

In an instant, thirteen Beren cavalrymen had surrounded four Burgundian knights. Cavalry swords clashed in showers of sparks. Since most cavalrymen wore plate armor or cavalry armor, blades alone couldn’t cut through. So fights were decided mainly by who got unhorsed first.

"Hornst! Damn it!"

"Attack from both sides!"

The knight who appeared to be the Burgundian commander possessed considerable mounted combat skill. Hornst, one of the guardsmen, was the first to engage and was unhorsed after being struck by the pommel—the hardest part of the cavalry sword. Alarmed, Eisenach and Bay rushed in, but the commander skillfully deflected their cavalry swords and even unhorsed Bay.

"Hyah! Hyah!"

I aimed my cavalry sword at the gap between the helmet and neck of the Burgundian knight charging straight toward me. He deflected the blow at an angle with his own sword while trying to hook his arm around mine. However, I tapped Schatten’s flank to veer right and slipped free.

"Salope!"

Cursing while fighting?

"Dreckskerl!"

I hurled back a curse of my own and clashed with him again.

This Burgundian knight’s mounted combat skills were formidable. But the bastard aimed for Schatten. I deflected the sword before it could reach my horse, but he then hooked his arm around my neck and tried to drag me off. The strike at Schatten had been a feint. I nearly lost my balance.

"Let go, you French bastard!"

"Filthy German! Die!"

While we grappled, each trying to unhorse the other, I spotted an arming sword at his waist. I drew it and held it in a reverse grip. Since I was wearing gauntlets, the blade couldn’t cut my hand. It made an excellent blunt weapon, and I hammered the Burgundian knight’s head with everything I had.

Thud! Thud! The crossguard struck hard and solid enough to dent his helmet.

"Urgh!"

Thump!

As soon as the Burgundian knight’s grip weakened, I hauled him straight off his horse.

Traditionally, knights only recognized the lance and sword as proper weapons. Those who used anything else were considered unknightly. That was precisely why the technique of gripping a sword in reverse and using the crossguard as a bludgeon existed. I had used his own arming sword to bring down the knight who had been grappling with me.

Thanks to Fiel and the other knights’ efforts, only the commander was still holding out among the Burgundian knights. The reason we aimed to capture rather than kill was that beyond military merit, you could claim part of a prisoner’s ransom. I also tried not to harm the horse he was riding. The commander, for his part, had unhorsed four of our men.

The guardsmen clung on desperately to earn merit, but except for Eisenach, every one of them was unhorsed and left rolling on the ground. It was only because the enemy had routed; had this happened in the thick of battle, unhorsed knights would have been easy prey for infantry—captured and finished off with daggers thrust through the gaps in their helmets.

"These German bastards are pathetic!"

"Commander, I’ll engage from the left—you take the right!"

Without waiting for an answer, Fiel drove his horse to the left while I drove mine to the right. There was no need for a one-on-one duel. Capturing that arrogant Burgundian commander was all that mattered. As Fiel seized his left arm, I swung the arming sword like a bludgeon and struck the commander’s sword arm just as he tried to swing.

"Ugh! Coward!"

"Why did a French bastard crawl all the way out here?"

"Damn it, we got lost too!"

Capturing the commander once he had dropped his sword was simple. Fiel and I closed in, grabbed him bodily, and dragged him from his horse. Fighting with a longsword felt far more natural, all things considered. My mounted combat wasn’t polished enough, so it had been dangerous—but I won all the same.

As soon as the commander was captured, the Burgundian troops who hadn’t managed to flee surrendered on the spot. We bound the knight tightly with cloth and fabric and dragged him to the command post where Michael and the Crown Prince were. The Burgundian commander grumbled the whole way that the bindings were too tight and he could barely breathe.

"I’m a prisoner, but isn’t this treatment of a noble far too barbaric?"

"Quiet, Frenchman. Keep it up and I’ll gag you."

"You seem like an educated German knight who learned the common language, but this is truly disappointing."

Fiel, who was helping me drag the prisoner, looked astonished that I was conversing with the Burgundian commander in French. Oops—I had said too much to the French bastard.

"Commander, you can speak French too?"

"I learned it so I could at least curse at Frenchmen."

"Truly, the more I learn about you, Commander, the more impressive you are."

Since becoming detachment commander, Fiel had been calling me "Commander" and showing a peculiar admiration. Being the same age made it all the more awkward. Even when I suggested we drop formalities, he stubbornly refused, insisting that knights should be courteous to one another. Because of that, I couldn’t drop formalities either and maintained the same courtesy in return.

Knowing French wouldn’t get you in trouble in the Holy Roman Empire, since French was widely used as a lingua franca in medieval Europe alongside Latin. The real question was why I could speak and understand French so naturally.

German and Latin were one thing, but French as well—could the system be translating for me? I queried the system, and it confirmed that the languages available to me were German, Latin, and French only. These three were standard features. To use additional languages, I would have to purchase them with points. Figures.

"Hear ye, members of the detachment who broke Burgundy’s rear. Thanks to your efforts, we were able to achieve a decisive victory over Burgundy. I commend your merit, and upon our return to Breisburg, there will be appropriate rewards. I promise this as Crown Prince of Altringen." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Looking at the Burgundian commander and the captured knights, the Crown Prince formally commended our achievements.

While surprising the enemy and breaking their rear as a detachment counted as military merit, attacking the command unit and capturing prisoners were recorded as individual achievements.

I had cooperated with Fiel to capture one knight and the commander. Fiel had independently captured one knight. Eisenach had also cooperated with the guards to capture one knight, though he had struggled against the commander. Vermeer had worked with the light cavalry to capture another. In total, we had taken all five knights prisoner.

"Although you suffered heavy casualties, the merit of engaging the Burgundian cavalry is great. You will also receive appropriate rewards. Until then, I hope the wounded recover well."

The lancers had let all the Burgundian cavalry escape but killed fifteen, so they had achieved considerable merit of their own. However, half of them had died, making the casualties equally severe. The Crown Prince’s expression was visibly stiff when commending the lancers, because he had originally intended to reprimand them.

But I heard later that Michael had talked him out of it.

So the Crown Prince had deliberately acknowledged our detachment’s merit first, then turned to the Beren Lance Cavalry’s merit second. That was why the lancers’ expressions were grim. Setting aside any hope of impressing the Crown Prince, they had lost five elite cavalrymen—and the cavalry commander would not let that slide.

With the Gale Knight quest completed, 5,000 points and 50 silver coins came into my possession. As soon as I received the points, I purchased the Commander Scouter. On the chance that I might find myself on another battlefield, I bought it in advance so I could lead troops at a moment’s notice.

With 300 Family Prestige points added, the Streit Family Prestige rose to 1,050 points, bringing both recognition and governance to 21%. I also acquired a new title: F-Rank Cavalry Commander. This title, which increases breakthrough by 20% and charge by 20%, appeared to have been created as a result of my leading the cavalry.

So I now held four titles in total: F-Rank Management (management 20%), F-Rank Negotiator (persuasiveness 20%), E-Rank Knight (military power 30%, courage 30%), and F-Rank Cavalry Commander (breakthrough 20%, charge 20%). Our army made camp outside Feuzen village, and the Crown Prince entered with his close aides.