However, Hoover's Onion tactic had a major flaw: the infantry used as bait had to be tough enough. If they collapsed on the spot, no tactics would work, not even the War God White's ascent from below.
Simply put, this tactic abandoned infantry, treating them as expendable pawns, and instead emphasized the cavalry's high mobility and formidable killing power.
There was a way to break through: if your cavalry were stronger than Saint Martin's, you could directly counter-charge and overwhelm them. But how could the purportedly weakest Veed cavalry dare to overturn the strongest heavy cavalry on the continent?
The primary role of Veed cavalry was to plunder defenseless civilians. Charging against them would only invite a thrashing from Saint Martin's cavalry.
Now, the only remaining chance for the Veed Kingdom was to quickly defeat Saint Martin's infantry.
As the soldiers of both nations passionately clashed, Alexander's group also drew their weapons, preparing for some physical interaction. Because they had encountered some unsavory characters, clearly up to no good.
Twelve fully armed riders blocked Alexander's path, their focus on the armor they wore, something Alexander had never seen before.
"Damn, these seem to be Rogue Knights, sir," a Saint Martin knight quickly said to Alexander.
Before Alexander could respond, the opposing side shouted, "Hey there, friend! With such a large entourage, you must be quite well-off. Would you mind sparing a bit of coin for a drink for a few of us?"
Alexander had heard of Rogue Knights; Geoffrey had emphasized their introduction to him. These individuals might have given up their noble aspirations due to shattered dreams or been exiled by other countries.
They were formidable fighters but aimlessly pillaged. They were like kings among bandits, albeit with a slight difference: sometimes, they would only plunder a peasant's hat because it looked nice, while other times, they would mercilessly slaughter all captives and survivors, exceptionally brutal.
Furthermore, Geoffrey had warned Alexander that these individuals were extremely troublesome due to their excellent personal combat abilities and luxurious equipment.
Now, Alexander had witnessed it firsthand—the opponent's equipment far surpassed that of his own men. Clad entirely in black-gray plate armor without a single flaw, they wielded dark metal round shields in their left hands and reinforced dark knight spears in their right hands, with a blackwood bow slung on their backs and a quiver at their waists.
They were versatile—able to fight both near and far, and resilient in both offense and defense.
Just looking at them, you could feel how tricky they were.
"Naturally, I can cover your drinking expenses," Alexander said with a smile.
"Oh, my friend, we only need 5000 dinars for drinks," the leader of the Rogue Knights replied.
Alexander shook his head and continued, "What I mean is, each of you can challenge me one by one. If you win, you take the 5000 dinars. But if you lose..."
"Hahaha, did you hear that? This kid wants to challenge us?" Before Alexander could finish, the leader of the Rogue Knights interrupted him, his tone dripping with undisguised mockery. The others joined in with raucous laughter, completely dismissing Alexander.
"If you lose, you'll have to obey my command," Alexander said, undeterred by the interruption.
"Young man, perhaps you haven't heard of our name. It's not your fault; when our name resounded on the battlefield, you were still in diapers," the leader of the Rogue Knights retorted.
Alexander ignored the man, dismounting from his Saint Martin steed in one fluid motion, planting his lance into the ground and drawing the Executioner's Greatsword, provocatively staring at the leader of the Rogue Knights.
The disdainful look in Alexander's eyes infuriated the leader of the Rogue Knights, who, despite not needing to adhere to any knightly code, simply wanted to teach this arrogant young man a lesson.
"Since your life is so short, let me end it," the leader of the Rogue Knights declared, dismounting from his warhorse and halting his men from charging forward. He planted his lance into the ground and received the hybrid sword handed to him by his subordinate.
Hybrid Sword: 43 slashing, 35 piercing, length 1.25 meters.
At a glance, Alexander noticed the mysterious patterns on the opponent's weapon. He knew that this sword was definitely not ordinary. Although it couldn't match the Executioner's Greatsword, it was far stronger than an average two-handed sword.
"Kid, your sword is not bad, but you've picked the wrong opponent," the leader of the Rogue Knights remarked, also taking note of Alexander's weapon—the menacing aura emanating from the Executioner's Greatsword and the natural aggression exuding from Alexander combined to create a palpable sense of pressure.
The leader of the Rogue Knights immediately restrained his contempt, feeling an ominous premonition creeping over him.
"Get on with it, what are you dawdling for? Acting like a drunken woman."
"If you're scared, just admit defeat. No shame in it."
"Heh, two idiots, why don't you come over and try to kill me yourselves!"
...
The thugs surrounded by the Saint Martin knights were not just bystanders; they were excitedly cheering on, as if they were standing in the dueling arena themselves.
But Alexander turned his head towards one of them, whose expression seemed slightly deranged, clearly someone with mental issues. And yes, it was him who shouted the last sentence.
Alexander quickly stepped forward, grabbed him, and said, "Everyone saw it, he asked me to kill him." With that, he swiftly severed the man's head, without hesitation.
This move left the leader of the Rogue Knights bewildered. What was he doing? Was he trying to make a sacrifice before the battle even began?
However, the Rogue Knights were seasoned individuals, not to be intimidated by Alexander's brutal actions. After all, whose hands among them weren't stained with blood?
"Just a child's play," the leader of the Rogue Knights dismissed Alexander's tactic as an attempt to intimidate him. Gripping his hybrid sword tightly with both hands, he suddenly accelerated towards Alexander.
"So fast!"
That was the only thought in Alexander's mind. Clad in such heavy plate armor, the Rogue Knight leader's speed far surpassed that of an ordinary person, charging towards Alexander like a humanoid cheetah.
With the buff from the Executioner's Greatsword, Alexander, who had reached 12 points of speed, could only rely on instinct to lift his greatsword and block the Rogue Knight leader's attack, which was coming at him at an unbelievable speed.
The Rogue Knight leader's strike was so fast that Alexander's defense seemed extremely strained, almost distorting.
However, something miraculous happened. Despite being the attacker, the Rogue Knight leader stumbled back several steps in rapid succession.
As they watched Alexander, who remained motionless, both the Rogue Knight leader and the other Rogue Knights under their masks displayed expressions of shock.
They all looked at Alexander incredulously, as if they were staring at a humanoid monster.