Baron Arald, Duncan, and Sir David teaming up at the Tournament at Gorlan. Seeing one Master Swordsman at work is awesome enough, but three at once is pretty darn badass.
The Battle of Hackham Heath:
Duncan leaves his newborn daughter in Castle Araluen, knowing that logically, Morgarath will recognize he can't take it without proper siege equipment. He leaves a small detachment of soldiers under the command of his mother. When Morgarath and a lieutenant ride up to take a look at things, she snipes the lieutenant from the wall, an incredibly long shot according to the guard whose bow she borrowed. Furthermore, it's implied she was aiming at Morgarath himself — if not for her forgetting to account for the wind, the rebel army would have been decapitated before they even faced Duncan in battle. Apparently Amazon-ness runs in the royal bloodline.
How does Flanagan show that the Godzilla Threshold has been reached? At one point, the entire Ranger Corps pours down a mass of arrows at the Wargals. Instead of just one archer with Improbable Aiming Skills and super-fast shooting, you have about two dozen attacking all at once. They're a major factor in destroying Morgarath's forces in the battle at Ashdown Cut.
King Duncan, Sir David, and Baron Arald are a force of nature with their swords, turning the tide on more than one occasion by charging into the fray themselves to relieve the beleaguered troops. Keep in mind, warghals are stronger than the average human, and the Araluen forces are heavily outnumbered.
Gilan proves his mettle and skill early by attacking a trio of warghals who went after Halt when the Ranger ran out of arrows. He kills two of them despite the warghals being armed and outweighing him. It's enough to make Halt offer him a spot in the Ranger apprentice program when he's older.
The anticipated Curb-Stomp Battle at Hackham Heath turns into a rout when Halt turns up with the cavalry. Using Hit-and-Run Tactics, the horsemen thoroughly demoralize the warghals, who end up fleeing down the hill. Morgarath takes years to recover the total control he had over his forces after that incident.
Will, as it turns out, gets heroism from both sides of his family line. When Halt tracked down Daniel's wife, she was under attack by two of her husband's "comrades", who were intent on looting the place. She gave Halt the chance to defeat one by jumping him, dying as a result.
The fact that Horace went from a Jerk Jock to being a Master Swordsman, loyal friend, and devious enough to occasionally one-up Halt, of all people, in an amazing example of Character Development.
Having just been subjected to a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown by three bullies who have been making his life hell for months, Horace gets back up and goes after them when he hears they're going after Will. He then proceeds to take them on in sword duels (while he's still bruised and bleeding), one at a time, perform a Literal Ass-Kicking to Jerome, Bryn, and Alda, and punch out Alda, in an incredibly cathartic scene.
The Dying Moment of Awesome from Will's father, Daniel. He was only a sergeant, never swore the oaths of knighthood or received any special training, but he still pulled off a feat that only the greatest of knights could have rivaled: In the aftermath of the battle of Hackham Heath, as the Wargals were being driven back into their mountains, there was a sudden counterattack, one of many. Daniel saw a comrade on the ground, surrounded by Wargals, and leapt out of line to cover that comrade. He struck down one Wargal with a spear, then got the head chopped off his spear and responded by taking down two more Wargals using the spearshaft like a staff. A Wargal attack then smashed the spear and cut Daniel's side open, to which he responded by taking a sword from a dead Wargal and cutting down three more of them, all while bleeding from a wound that would have killed most men on the spot. This display was so impressive that it actually intimidated the Wargals into fleeing, the only thing other than a massed cavalry charge that has been seen to do so. And that man on the ground? That was Halt himself.
It's repeatedly emphasized that, after his long ride in Book 2, Gilan is absolutely bone-dead exhausted, barely having enough energy to stay awake long enough to make his report to Halt, Duncan, and his father. He then immediately goes to bed... and as he's dreaming, his subconscious picks up on one little casual detail from what Duncan tossed out earlier and puts the pieces together. While he was sleeping.
Horace challenging Morgarath in the end of The Burning Bridge. He didn't really think it through, but by god, he looked BADASS. Furthermore, he won due to a combination of Chekhov's Skill, Underestimating Badassery, and the good ol'fashioned Indy Ploy.
Horace (an apprentice with less than three years of training under his belt) vs a series of Gallican knights. Result? Curb-Stomp Battle after Curb-Stomp Battle. No wonder Deparnieux was worried.
Speaking of the above, in the same book Halt gets another one not for his Improbable Aiming Skills (which are pretty par for the course for Halt), but for his timing. Deparnieux rears back and sweeps a glove out of his belt, then swings it forward to slap Horace's cheek, trapping the young knight in a challenge he can't possibly win...and in an eyeblink, the glove is yanked out of his hand and skewered to a pillar as Halt moves out of the shadows, with another arrow already on the string and pointed at the warlord's heart. And then intimidating the warlord into backing down, pretty much through sheer force of personality.
Any time any/all of the main characters are put in charge of a force larger than 2 other people.
Will commanding the archers at the end of book 4, The Battle for Skandia, who happen to have previously been Skandian slaves. By the time the Temujai attack, (which is about 2 weeks from when Will is given the archers) they are shooting at the full strength of a battalion of Araluen archers.
Hell, the entire battle for Skandia may be this. The Temujai expect to fight a horde of barbarians who they can curbstomp into the dust in a couple of hours. What they get in return is a well prepared and disciplined fighting force and a battalion of archers, who they rarely ever have to fight. It's mentioned the Temujai are the largest threat to the Western World, and they got beaten by a bunch of barbarians.
A non-action moment: Evanlyn has been keeping her real identity as Princess Cassandra under wraps because Ragnak took an irrevocable vow to kill all of Duncan's family. However, when Slaygor gives the order to whip an already beaten Araluan slave woman to get her to identify her, Evanlyn outs herself to protect her.
Essentially, the heroes were able to train a group of workers who'd never seen a day of battle in their lives to repel an army of experienced Samurai. Using what amounts to Roman military tactics, of all things.
Deparnieux, a local warlord, has imprisoned Halt and Horace. Their solution? Wait for him to lower his guard, then pull an epicBait-and-Switch gambit where it seems as if Horace is preparing to challenge Deparnieux, then have Halt do it himself. Afterwards, Halt does it again, by firing several arrows at Deparnieux's visor. The warlord casually blocks all of his arrows, and when Halt fires a final arrow, he raises his shield again... but doesn't notice that it's a special armour-piercing arrow, which, heavier than a normal arrow, dips below his shield and hits him in the chest. He's dead before he hits the ground.
Erak's Ransom:
Baron Arald having the sheer guts to publicly disagree with Duncan. Admittedly, given that it's Duncan, he knew that he wouldn't be in too much danger of retribution, but still... arguing with the king? In public? That takes a lot of nerve.
When Selethen and the heroes happen on a slaughtered trading party that was transporting Erak, Selethen grows furious and suspicious, wondering if the Araluens sent some other group to extricate Erak, thereby saving the ransom. Even Halt is temporarily stymied. Then Horace, who is not as quick-thinking and politic as the Ranger corps, tries to add something. Halt, concerned the young knight is angered over the question of honor, tries to shut him up, but Horace continues with a question just as piercing as his sword-strokes: how would this supposed Araluen party have known that Erak was with the traders? Selethen wasn't originally truthful about where Erak was, so no Araluen party would have known where to make such a raid.
When the Tualaghi executioner arrives, he starts prancing around, swinging his broadsword above his head, and making a huge display, before bringing it straight down an inch above the nearest prisoner's hair. Horace, who saw what was coming thanks to reading the other man's body language, stands utterly still and smiles.
Horace: That was really very good. I wonder, can I have a go?
The executioner repeats this with Erak, Svengal, and Cassandra—the latter of whom, remember, is not a trained warrior—and not a single one of them flinches. Erak and Svengal even get in some casual bickering!
Will pulls off multiple pretty much perfect shots at a range of one hundred and twenty meters. (For American readers, that's nearly four hundred feet).
Cassandra proves her Ambadassador status by pointing out to Selethen that since Yusal, not he, was the one holding Erak, she should technically pay him. When he argues that this is a technicality, she gets him to admit that there's actually a substantial reward being offered for Yusal (whom she defeated). Ergo, she does not owe him any money-he owes some to her. She therefore offers to forego the reward for Yusal, pay 20,000 silver reels to the Bedullin for their help, and another 20,000 to Selethen. When Erak tells her that she's very generous, she looks at him and replies,
Cassandra: No, I'm not. You are. You're the one who's repaying the 40,000 reels to my father, remember?
Note that the original ransom for Erak was over 66,000 reels, which means that she's simultaneously: Earned the respect of the local Wakir, the Bedullin, and the Oberjarl of Skandia, putting Araulen in a stronger position next time they have to work with them; saved her own country a significant sum of money; and put Skandia in Araulen's debt for the immediate future, until they can pay it off. All in less than five minutes and without showing any sign of effort. That is an Ambadassador, ladies and gentlemen.
The fact that Gilan is an expert swordsman is an Informed Ability in Book 1, but Book 2 shows us that his reputation is well-deserved. How? While instructing Horace, he encourages the young warrior to attack him, which Horace does for about a minute straight, without pulling his punches at all...and Gilan barely expends any effort in deflecting and parrying his strikes, then ends it in a couple of seconds when he decides it's gone on long enough. Of course, he'll have many more awesome moments with a sword throughout the series, but this shows that he truly is aMaster Swordsman.
Another example: In Book 7, he picks up a curved sword, when he's only ever trained with straight blades, and starts "cutting through the defenders like a knife through butter." Anyone who's ever trained in multiple weapons styles can attest how difficult it is to adjust to a different kind of weapon. Gilan? He "began wielding the unfamiliar curved sword as if he'd been using one all his life."
The Kings of Clonmel:
The Outsiders and the throne (or rather, Halt, who was posing as his brother) get into a Trial by Combat. Sean Kerrick makes it evident from the announcements that this is intended to be a final judgment and demands that Tennyson swear to be bound by the rules of the duel. Tennyson, naturally, doesn't want to lose his wiggle room in case something goes wrong, even though Horace is apparently at a disadvantage. However, his hesitation makes his new followers suspicious, and he's forced into agreeing to maintain his own image. It's rather satisfying to see the False Prophet's reliance on spectacle used against him.
Horace, despite being on the defensive against Killeen's ball and chain for most of the match, wins with a seriously unconventional plan using his nearly-broken shield as a distraction. Even though Tennyson has him drugged before his match with Gerard, he manages to land two potentially lethal blows (one to the chest and one to the head), even with a sluggish body and blurred vision.
Will manages to reach the tent before the Genovesan who is looking to destroy the drugged water, knock the man out, get the ice vendor to testify that he sold ice to the man for the Sunrise Warrior, and reach the field of combat just in time to save Horace from Gerard with a well-placed arrow. Then he turns the crowd against Tennyson, using the charlatan's preferred method of influencing the mob against him.
Halt's Peril:
Will and Horace are seemingly at an impasse—they know what kind of poison was used on Halt, but there are two varieties, the antidote for one will make the other worse and vice versa, and the Genovesan won't tell them which he used. Will, pushed beyond the breaking point, loses his temper, but obviously it's ineffective. Horace gently moves him aside. He then very, very calmly slices open the man's sleeve, slashes him with the poisoned arrow, and cheerfully forces him to run around the campsite, getting his heart pounding and spreading the poison through his veins, until the man "has his memory back." It is a huge departure from Horace's usual affable Nice Guy persona, and it's kind of terrifying.
Will is exhausted, physically and emotionally, by the last few days, and desperate to get Halt the treatment he needs. However, when Malcolm starts to give Halt the antidote first, the young Ranger still has enough presence of mind to tell him to dose the assassin first, in case he's lying.
In general: It's noted that Gilan is the Ranger Corps' recognized expert on unseen movement. Given that every Ranger is expected to be a master of stealth, that's no small thing.
