1 Chapter 1

"Help, Somebody help me!", Jack suddenly heard a voice which was coming from not so far away. He was enjoying the peace and the beautiful scenery at the outskirts of the city of Anastasia, the capital of the Annville Empire. Who would be so free to come here at this place, especially at this time of the day when the sun was burning with it's full might and the heat was unbearable? Jack was stunned. "Someone must be in trouble ", he thought. Without a second thought, Jack immediately jumped on his horse and rode in the direction of the voice.

...

Meanwhile, not so far away, a beautiful young girl found herself surrounded by a group of dangerous looking men. Their faces were covered with a cloth and they wore the typical style robes which ordinary people would usually wear in Anastasia. It was obvious they were bandits, as they unsheathed their swords to threaten the girl. "Give us whatever you have or we will kill you!", shouted one of the man, as his eyes caught a sparkling necklace on the girl's neck. They had hit a jackpot! The girl must be a rich brat.

Little did they knew that the girl was not only rich, but the Princess of the City, Princess Julie! She was the Emperor Richard's only daughter and the future queen of the Annville Empire, which was the most powerful empire in the entire continent. She was a mischievous and adventurous young girl who was pampered by the Emperor. For her safety, she was forbidden to leave the castle by the emperor as he feared something might happen to his beloved daughter. However, Frustrated by the colossal walls and the same routine, she had decided to wander in the outskirts of the city today, but who knew she would end up at the mercy of a group of bandits?

"It will be a waste to kill a beautiful girl like you. How about you let us play with you for a while and we will spare your life", said the leader of the group as he gave an evil smile. He had not seen any women for a long time. He will certainly not let this opportunity slip away. Julie's expression became fearful. She knew what he meant. Julie felt uncomfortable with the stares of these men. She had never been so humiliated in her life. No one even had the audacity to look her in the eye when talking to her. Who would dare offend the Princess of the city? These bandits must have a deathwish. However, the Princess was never seen out of the castle so it was impossible for anyone to recognise her except for the castle officials. "Tie her up", ordered the leader of the group. Immediately two of the bandits grabbed the Princess and kicked the back of her knees. The Princess immediately fell and was in a kneeling position. The bandits then tied her hands. The Princess struggled violently to avoid being tied up but in vain. She was now completely defenceless.

"Leave her alone!", suddenly a voice echoed. Julie followed the voice and saw a tall, handsome man, probably in his 20's, mounted on a horse not so far away. He had thick hair which was combed neatly at the back of his head and his beard was shiny and perfect, neither too long nor too short. He had a tough physique and gave a powerful aura. He was none other than Jack. As soon as he heard the voice of a young girl crying for help, he rode his horse at full speed to see for himself what was going on.

"Young man, you must be looking for death", said the leader of the bandits."We control this area! I am going to give u a chance to run away before we-" before he could finish Jack threw his dagger at the man and in the blink of an eye it pierced his throat. Fresh blood gushed out as the leader of the bandits fell to the ground. The bandits gasped in astonishment. How daring was this man? He just killed their leader! He must be looking for death! Without warning, the remaining 3 bandits pushed forward to attack. Jack rolled his eyes, he had been dealing with these kind of situations all his life. He unsheathed his sword and took out another dagger from his pocket,ready to defend himself. The bandits were quick and raised their swords to attack Jack.

"Cling!"

The swords collided in mid air. Before the bandits could do anything else, Jack stabbed one of the man with his dagger, who immediately fell dead. The men pulled back their swords and began lifting it to attack again.

"Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Before they could raise their swords, Jack sliced their chests

"Aargh!", cried the bandits as they fell dead. Even Julie was stunned by the skills of Jack. As a princess she had seen countless soldiers training but had never seen any soldier who was so fast , powerful and brave as Jack. Julie's admiration for Jack grew stronger. However, she realised she was still tied up and defenceless. She was embarrassed that she was now at the mercy of a commoner. This was the most embarrassing day of her life!

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