The sudden micro bikinis did not inspire hope, and this chapter just crashed the train and is letting it burn.
What the actual fuck, author. This was awful. The pacing was particularly atrocious.
You are remembering correctly, yes. That was the first thing I thought of when this arc started - it's a "not again" thing for his family, because damn, the odds of such things happening twice in a row are infinitesimal.
Buddy's bringing 21st-century tactics to the field. Of course he's leagues above the others. The knights could likely really use a tactician, since considering what Tistoria said, the knights likely don't have a proper tactician.
He's an excellent tactician. If every knight is a meathead, pure power is the only reason they'd win battles larger than 1-on-1; frankly, if that's the case, they need his talent more than another fighter.
Of course, that only applies in this one case. If they already have a tactician and/or...