A horse-drawn carriage sped down the long, twisted road, accompanied by several horse-mounted guards. The sound of galloping horses echoed throughout the vast fields. On the right was a river; the morning sunlight reflected off the surface of the Great River of Tuchi. To the left was a steep hill where herds of animals were grazing down below.

The carriage bore the mark of Luclera, nobles of the Kingdom of Rymeth. Sat inside was Lilliana Leron Luclera, the eldest daughter of the Luclera family. At the age of fifteen, Lilliana had long golden hair and beautiful azure eyes. She wore an elegant blue gown that fitted perfectly with her dazzling looks.

They had left the dukedom of Luclera the day before and were on their way to the royal capital, Acophis. She was to join her father, The Duke of Luclera, in the royal capital to attend The Rymeth Magic Academy. The academy was set up, by the King, for young people who had strong mana manipulation abilities to learn their power, regardless of their social status or wealth.

Not only was Lilliana gifted with beauty, but she also had the talent for magic. Mana manipulation was something exceptionally uncommon. In the Kingdom of Rymeth, around one in a thousand were able to manipulate mana.

The carriage came slowly to a stop, and there was a knock on the door. Outside was the head knight of the Luclera family, Rolph, who was entrusted to protect Lilliana to the capital.

During his time as the commander of the Rymeth army, he became very well known for leading his men bravely into battle with countless victories and low casualties. He had retired and became the head knight for the Luclera family. Lilliana opened the carriage window and asked Rolph what the matter was.

"My lady, there is a broken down wagon blocking the road up ahead. The horses cannot get through."

Lilliana stuck her head out and saw the broken down wagon. There was a mother with her small child standing beside a man with a cloak covering his face. Something felt off to Lilliana, but she wanted to help the distressed family and resume her journey.

"Could you get your men to push the wagon to the side and do let the family know beforehand."

"Understood, my lady", Rolph bowed and took his leave.

Lilliana slumped back and sighed in exasperation. The journey was going to be even longer, and she doubted that they would make it to the capital before evening. She had asked for no maid to accompany her on this journey since she wanted to be more independent. But since then, Lilliana had regretted the decision very much.

"Ughhh, why did I not listen to mother-"

At the exact moment, there was a scream of agony. Lilliana stuck her head out the window, and she was met with a horrific scene. The cloaked figure had pulled a knife and plunged it into an unexpected guard. The unfortunate guard dropped to the ground as blood gushed out of him. Before the rest could react, a volley of arrows came down and struck several of them.

"Dammit, bandits!!, it's an ambush. Men shield up and defend the carriage!!," Rolph commanded the remainder of his men, and they immediately went to work.

Several bandits that hid in the wagon jumped out and made their way towards the carriage. The sound of galloping hooves rocked the earth as mounted bandits appeared from behind. They surrounded Lilliana's escorts and killed them one by one.

It was an absolute slaughter, the earth was dyed red, and the stench of death polluted the air. A lone man made his way towards the carriage, stepping on the corpses of the fallen. He was bald and had his entire muscular chest revealed. His fists crushed all of the guards that tried to attack him, and soon there was no one left to protect Lilliana.

"Haha, these guys are pathetic." The giant sneered, revealing his yellow stained teeth. He grabbed the handle of the carriage door and tore it off. "Hehe, found you." He yanked the terrified Lilliana out of the carriage.

"Let go of me at once, you vile creatures!!" She resisted with all her might, twisting her body to wrench free. But the brutish man ignored her feeble attempt and threw her onto the ground.

One of the bandits noticed Lilliana on the floor and made his way towards her. His eyes were filled with lust and hunger as he moved his scrawny body over Lilliana and licked his lips.

"Mm, you smell nice. I can't wait to make you scream. Hehe," The man pinned Lilliana's shoulders down and sniffed around her neck.

His face was hideous, and his breath stank. She tried to face away from her attacker, but her body was trembling in terror. Lilliana watched as he moved his boney hands over to touch her chest, but before they made contact, a blade pierced through the side of his neck, and his blood sprayed all over Lilliana.

" AAAAAAAHHHH" Lilliana screamed as the lifeless body dropped on top of her. She tried to push the body off, but she couldn't muster enough strength.

Instead, the bald giant kicked the corpse to the side and furiously stomped on the dead man's skull.

"LISTEN, YOU PIECES OF SHITS! BOSS TOLD US TO BRING THE GIRL TO HIM, UNHARMED," he announced as he spat on the decimated corpse." ANYONE WHO DOESN'T LISTEN TO ORDERS WILL END UP LIKE THIS!!"

Lilliana saw the horror on the other men's faces. This hulking monster was even feared amongst his bandit buddies. No one wanted to anger him further. He pulled out a pair of shackles and bound her hands and legs. This time Lilliana did not resist. The lifeless face of the man who tried to rape her was still haunting her mind even though she knew he was dead.

"S-sir... Geryon, we got the head knight, b-b..." a horse-mounted bandit came back to report but started stuttering at the sight of the bloody mess of Lilliana attacker.

"SPIT IT OUT!!" The giant called Geryon was getting louder and louder. Lilliana felt like her eardrums were about to burst.

"B-but, one of the riders managed to escape, sir!."

"YOU IDIOT!!!" Geryon slammed his fist into the side of the man, sending him flying off his horse. The rest of the men gulp in fear as they watch their friend getting brutally beaten to a pulp.

"WE ARE GETTING OUT OF HERE!!" Geryon ordered, and the rest of the men hurried to retreat, not wanting to suffer the same fate as the other two. "Now you're coming with me." He grabbed Lilliana and threw her into a metal cage wagon.

"Lady Liliana, I'm glad you're okay." The voice belonged to Rolph. He was bounded in chains just like her, but he had cuts and bruises all over.

"Dear lord, Rolph, are you okay."

"I'm fine, my lady. I am more ashamed that I wasn't able to protect you." He looked down, trying to hide the tears of shame.

"Rolph, it's okay. I'm still alive; there is still hope. I heard someone managed to get past the wagon."

"Yes, that would be Lucas. His horse managed to slip past the wagon, but an arrow had struck him. I'm not sure if he can make it to the capital."

"We still have to believe that help will come for us."

"Yes, my lady, I will make sure that you are brought to safety."

Several horses dragged the duo along in their cage. Lilliana could see the group of bandits grinning ear to ear to celebrate their recent victory and spoils.