It's definitely possible he does meet someone his equal. His battle with the Wilendorf commander was not easy. You'll find out a little more about why he won that fight in later chapters.
I don't think it will for a while. This battle will be a few chapters long and then there's the political aftermath dealing with the Bosel family (Caroline's family).
Some corrections:
The bandits are just bandits. Not survivors from some different town.
Caroline's troops are those loyal to her after her attempt to seize power from her older sister. Mostly soldiers from her time serving in the military.
Caroline's troops met the bandits and absorbed them...
Why is this thread still going?
Edit: Wait did you GFG'ers create a new thread to necro my old one from the old forum?
Edit 2: My age addled brain confused this with another thread. Please continue.
I think they may just be remembering incorrectly. The Queen is shown to be worried for Valliere in the WN too. The manga is just playing it up a little more with the visuals. The WN definitely takes a more serious tone than the manga in general though.
Astarte is basically saying she hates any noble who exhibits any kind of mediocrity. This includes Valliere and the 2nd Princess Guard Knights. I think she's happy that she gets the opportunity to expose this mediocrity to everyone, Faust especially.
Caroline does not have any connection to...