Non's mind raced, desperately searg for a way out. With no ons and only seds to act, his situation was dire.

  He tried to assess if there was any on nearby, his eyes sing the ground for a fallen sword, a spear, or even a rock he could use.

  But then, something ued happened.

  A sharp whistle cut through the air, and in a blink, the bandit dropped to the ground.

  Before Non could even process what was happening, more arrows zipped through the sky, striking the bandits heading his way with deadly precision.

  One by one, his enemies fell like broken dolls, obliterated before they could eve.

  Non blinked, astonished.

  Where were these shots ing from?

  Wasting no time, he activated his magibsp;

  Everything around him slowed down, the battlefield moving as if it were shrouded in a thick fog.

  Only he moved normally.

  He used the interval to check if any arrows were aimed at him, but none came his way.

  The nearby bandits colpsed before they could get any closer.

  By the third sed, he let time flow again.

  *Who the hell…?* Non thought as he adjusted his stanbsp;

  Every three seds, he slowed time for a brief moment to check if anyone was targeting him.

  Everything seemed clear, but he didn't dare lower his guard.

  Carefully, he moved toward his knights' formation, taking advantage of the chaos to get to safety.

  That's when he saw where the arrows were ing from.

  In the distance, a group of mounted archers roag.

  Their shots were precise, calcuted, mowing down the bandits with a skill he had rarely seen.

  The projectiles pierced the helmets of the eaking them out with chilling accuracy, even from a distanbsp;

  Realizing the situation was quickly being unsustaihe bandits tried to flee, but they were hunted down like defenseless prey.

  The sound of arrows slig through the air was almost hypnotic, like the beat of a war drum.

  Thwabsp;

  Thwabsp;

  Thwabsp;

  The relentless sound of bodies hitting the ground resonated with a rhythm that could only meahing: the bandits were being sughtered.

  Those who dared to retreat or raise their ons were struck down in the blink of an eye.

  Just when it seemed the battle was over, a dull, dry sound echoed in the air.

  Bang!

  Nohe sound rip through the battlefield, unlike anything he had ever heard before.

  It wasn’t the whistle of an arrow or the roar of an explosive spell.

  It was something... new.

  His eyes instinctively darted to the st bandit who had fallen. But there was no arrow stig out of him.

  No. Something else had taken him down, something Non didn't reize.

  The knights, who had maintaiheir posure until now, immediately surrounded him to protect him.

  Despite the surprise, they maintairict discipline, following protocol.

  "Are you alright, Lord Non?" one of the knights asked, his voice deep and ed.

  Non was breathing heavily, the strain of stantly using his magic had taken its toll.

  "Yes... I’m fine," he replied, slightly panting, trying to keep his voice steady. "Thank you for... your support." His words were measured, but his mind was still fixated on what he had just witnessed.

  What had taken down that st bandit?

  As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the fallen body in the distahere was no sign of an arrow wound, no indication of a spell he could reize.

  So what...?

  Before he could analyze it further, the group of mounted archers began approag.

  They carried a royal banner waving high.

  Non rexed his shoulders slightly upon seeing the emblem.

  The archers stopped a few meters away, swiftly dismounting and approag him with respe every movement.

  The one eared to be their leader, a slender woman with sharp eyes, offered a brief bow before speaking.

  "Lord Non Rook," she began, her voice clear and authoritative. "ologize for not introdug ourselves sooner. We’ve been esc you since you left the city. We didn’t notiything unusual, but decided to keep our distance for safety."

  Non stared at her, his expression impassive.

  "So, you knew something like this might happen?"

  "It ossibility," the archer leader admitted. "With the current tension at the borders, we didn’t want to take unnecessary risks." She paused, theured toward a couple of women in her group wearing white robes. "We brought healers just in case. Do you need medical attention?"

  Non looked at his injured wrist, still throbbing with pain. But he shook his head.

  "No. I’m fine." He then oward his knights, who still stood firm, some injured but still on their feet. "Take care of my men first. They gave everything in this battle."

  The healers rushed to follow his order, bowing respectfully before tending to the wounded knights.

  Non looked at the archer leader o time and nodded, grateful for their support.

  "You’ve done an excellent job. I don’t know what would have happened without your intervention."

  "We’re just doing our duty," she replied almost meically, befiving him a small bow.

  With the danger seemingly eliminated, Non began walking back to the carriage.

  But then, something shiny caught his attention.

  On the ground, near where the st bandit had fallen, there was a strange object, unlike any on he had ever seen before.

  Some sort of... metallic der, pa shape. He leaned in slightly, his sharp eyes evaluating the strange on.

  Could it be... some ype of encapsuted spell?

  He sensed no traana in the object. But before he could iigate further, he remembered Emily was still in the carriage, alone and scared.

  The exhaustion weighed heavily on his shoulders, but he forced himself to move.

  Nouro the carriage, opening the dently. Emily was curled up in a er, her face buried in her knees.

  When she saw him, she looked up, her eyes filled with worry.

  "Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" she asked nervously.

  Non smiled, f himself to appear rexed.

  "No, I’m fine," he replied softly. "It’s all over now." He sat across from her, his expression calm.

  But inside, his mind was still burning with questions.

  Who had sent so many bandits?

  This wasn’t a simple robbery. It nned and coorditabsp;

  As the carriage resumed its journey, now escorted by muards, Non couldn’t stop thinking about the attack.