User blog comment:Xilinoc/Ch. 599 - Too Early To Win, Too Late To Know/@comment-4822693-20141004225027/@comment-5398287-20141006142854

Well, it's been clear since the start of the war that power level can vary drastically between Sternritter, depending on their epithet and how powerful their other abilities are. With that in mind, I'm guessing that the Elite Guard aren't a whole other 26 Sternritter, just Sternritter with letters that are particularly powerful (think Quilge, of course) and Askin simply got recognized as that. The idea that there are unlettered Sternritter with weaker powers, but who are still captain-class, would make more sense to me.