I cut through the chaos with singular focus, ignoring the clash of steel breaking out around me as my own riders engaged the scattering mercenaries, my eyes fixed entirely on the lead rider fighting to control a panicked horse while the wooden chest bounced dangerously against the saddle straps.
"Cut him off!" I shouted toward Torres, who was already wheeling his mount to block the man's escape route toward the deeper darkness of the tree line.
The rider, realizing the trap closing around him, abandoned any pretense of loyalty to his employers and yanked hard on his reins, trying to force his horse through a gap that no longer existed between me and the surrounding riders. Desperation made him reckless, he drew a short blade with one hand while fighting to steady the terrified animal wit
