While Emily struggled to contain her panic, Nolan remained completely calm.

If there was one thing he had learned on the battlefield, it was that losing your composure was the same as signing your own death warrant.

Even with the chaos around them and the cries of pain from the knights defending the carriage, his mind stayed cold and focused.

He knew that Emily wasn’t used to situations like this. For her, someone who had never been exposed to real danger, much less the brutality of battle, all of this was a terrifying experience.

However, for Nolan, the lines between life and death in combat were no longer unfamiliar.

He observed the chaos through the window, eyes narrowed and his mind calculating every detail he could perceive.

The knights fought fiercely against a group that seemed too large to be mere bandits.

Still, there was no way to tell if they were hired mercenaries or just common thugs looking for riches. At a glance, he could count at least twenty enemies, all armed and well-organized.

The knights were managing to hold the line, but at a visible cost: some of them already lay on the ground, injured or dead.

Nolan took a deep breath to steady his body, aware that his ability to reverse time in his current state wasn’t at its best.

Without his wand and not yet fully healed, he could barely go back 22 seconds, which would be useless in an attack of this scale. There was no point in going back and watching the battle unfold the exact same way, with enemies surrounding them and pushing forward relentlessly.

This could be a planned attack, so the only option was to face the situation head-on.

“Stop the carriage!” Nolan shouted, his tone slicing through the air with authority.

The driver, an older man with more scars than hair on his head, took a second to react.

The horses, trained to endure combat situations, neighed and moved restlessly, but after a few sharp commands and pulls on the reins, the carriage finally came to a jolting stop.

Emily was thrown off balance in her seat, gripping the edge as the wood creaked from the sudden halt.

“Nolan, what are you doing?” Emily asked, her voice trembling, but he barely looked at her.

“Stay here,” he said quietly, firmly. His tone left no room for argument.

Emily pressed her lips together, unable to respond. Her body trembled with fear and frustration, but Nolan ignored her, focusing entirely on what was happening outside.

The knights were still fighting bravely, holding a formation that, though faltering under constant attacks, was still managing to keep the bandits at bay.

Nolan took a deep breath and, before Emily could stop him, opened the carriage door and stepped out.

Outside, the situation was even worse than it had seemed from inside. The sound of clashing metal, cries of pain, and the smell of fresh blood filled the air.

The knights who had been wounded lay on the ground, and though most were still standing and fighting valiantly, Nolan quickly realized that, if things continued like this, they wouldn’t last much longer.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

They needed a change of strategy.

In the distance, he saw the leader of the knights, an imposing man whose armor shone despite the battle, fighting multiple enemies at once, dominating with strength and skill.

But something caught Nolan’s eye. A spark of light formed at the edge of the forest. A sense of immediate danger washed over him, his instincts warning him a second before the spell was cast.

A bolt of energy shot toward the leader of the knights.

“Watch out!” Nolan shouted, but it was too late.

The bolt struck the leader squarely in the chest, throwing him off his horse and causing him to hit the ground heavily.

The knights’ formation crumbled instantly, and the enemies took advantage of the chaos to advance with renewed ferocity.

Nolan frowned, feeling his mind speed up.

Something was off about this attack, something that didn’t add up.

Why would a group of mere bandits have a mage capable of casting such powerful spells?

It was clear that someone was behind this.

“Alright,” he muttered to himself, clearing his mind.

Time seemed to freeze as he activated his magic.

Everything around him slowed: the movement of the swords, the surprised expressions of the knights, the dust rising from the impact of the bolt.

Nolan rewound time by three seconds, just before the bolt had been launched.

Now back in that moment, he saw clearly. The leader was fighting, unaware of what was happening around him.

“Get off the horse!!” Nolan shouted with all the strength in his lungs.

The shout echoed across the battlefield, catching everyone’s attention.

The bandits turned, confused, and the knight leader himself frowned.

Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored such an order, especially coming from a noble, but the princess had made it clear to all the knights before the mission:

Nolan Rook’s orders are absolute.

Although the decision left him exposed, the leader managed to throw himself to the side of the horse at the last second, surprising both himself and his enemies.

And just then, the bolt passed through the spot where he had been a second before, cutting across the field like a deadly beam.

Nolan wasted no time. He quickly pinpointed the direction from which the spell had been cast.

In that instant, he activated another of his abilities, slowing time around him.

One second.

Everything moved as if in a dream, and he rushed forward, picking up the lance the knight leader had dropped.

Three seconds.

Nolan’s body felt heavy, his muscles tense from the strain, but he ignored the pain.

He had to act before his magic faded.

With the lance in hand, he headed toward the edge of the forest.

Seven seconds.

There, just a few meters away, he saw two hooded figures. One of the mages was preparing another spell, focused on his target.

Nolan frowned, aiming precisely. With a final effort, he hurled the lance with all the strength his arm could muster.

Twelve seconds.

Time resumed its normal course, and the lance shot forward with such force that Nolan himself stumbled forward, falling to the ground.

The lance flew with a deadly whistle, piercing both mages in an instant and embedding itself in the tree behind them. They both collapsed without a sound, dead before they even knew what had happened.

The pain in his right wrist intensified, making him groan. But there was no time to worry about that.

Nolan struggled to his feet, surveying the battlefield. The knights, now free from the threat of the bolt, managed to regroup and repel the bandits’ attack.

But then he saw it.

In the distance, a second wave of enemies was approaching.

“This has got to be a joke,” Nolan muttered, sweat covering his brow.

Taking advantage of the fact that he wasn’t in anyone’s line of sight, Nolan picked up the lance again, this time with his injured hand.

Something about the attack he had just made puzzled him.

The force of the lance had been much greater than he had expected. He had never experienced anything like it before.

Could it be that his time ability was amplifying the force of his attacks?

Or perhaps… had his strength increased that much?

Taking advantage of the fact that more than twelve seconds had passed, he decided to try again, but this time without slowing time.

Nolan focused all his strength on the lance and threw it with all his might. But to his dismay, the projectile didn’t fly with the same speed or power as before.

The lance flew normally, falling to the ground without making any significant impact.

“Damn it!” he muttered through gritted teeth.

That move had been a complete waste of time, and to make matters worse, he had now revealed his position.

Seeing the opportunity, several bandits began approaching him with swords and axes in hand.

Some knights tried to go protect him, but they were busy fighting in other areas of the battlefield.

Nolan swallowed hard.

He had thrown the lance like an idiot, and now he was unarmed, facing several enemies at once.

Nolan’s heart raced.

He knew he had to think fast, or he wouldn’t get out of this alive.