When the dust settled, a large cave like entrance was left in the building. It now looked more like a barn rather than someone’s house. Since this was supposed to be the Wilson family’s farm, Ethan found the new look somewhat appropriate.

Quickly, the youth ran through the hole he himself created.

“Intruder!”

“Stop!”

Several voices were heard from behind. However, immediately afterwards, another sound made them go silent.

An ear numbing buzz was coming from the crops' direction. Suddenly, the soil and even the force field began to shake violently.

The mages inside started to panic. They rushed towards the barrier and imputed their exit codes. But, nothing happened.

“Try again!”

They yelled at each other while frantically trying to escape. The guards outside were watching pale faced and confused. Even the second guard captain, who just came out of the other house, was lost for a solution.

In the following minutes, someone was sent after the family head and the mages inside tried to force their way through. But, even after much time had passed, they still didn’t have a solution.

Suddenly, the shaking which threatened to collapse their tower of crops simply stopped. For a few short breaths, the farm was silent. And then…

- ZAP! -

Almost instantly, numerous streaks of lightning discharged within the barrier and converged in the middle. Anything in their paths was immediately destroyed. The layers of soil and crops were disintegrated. The rank 2 mages within were charred and unrecognizable. One of the Wilson family’s largest sources of income was gone.

“Get back!” ordered the remaining captain of the guards.

Soon after this order, the ball of lightning grew so large it touched the gigantic barrier. In that moment, whatever was left of the inner system had collapsed, and night became day.

Even though the explosion was muffled by the barrier’s remains, it still obliterated the yard, the 2 houses, and any other structure or creature within 100 feet.

Thanks to the captain’s swift order, only 2 mages were killed in the explosion. The rest were either staring at the crater or chasing after Ethan.

At the same time, in another part of the city…

Moments after the explosion, the light and sound it generated had reached Ethan’s position. It greatly disturbed his pursuers making them slow down their chase. However, instead of being pleased, the boy was annoyed.

‘I should have timed that better.’ He noted to himself. The large delay gave him ample time to escape but it did the same for his opponents. He was already generous enough to maintain the barrier. Otherwise, the explosion could have easily wiped out a few city blocks.

“Did he do that?”

“You bastard!”

His pursuers were starting to get on his nerves. He was getting closer to the next farm and couldn’t afford to arrive with company.

After turning several corners and biding his time, he finally found an ideal spot. It was an intersection between several small streets. When scanning the surroundings, there were only commoners and a few low rank mages in the surrounding buildings. The visibility was poor and cut off by buildings, so anyone outside of his detection range could not hope to spot him.

“End of the line.”

“Have decided to die quietly?”

Seeing that Ethan had suddenly stopped, the 4 pursuers stopped their sprint as well. They approached the teen carefully with the intent to surround him.

“Mere dogs should learn some manners.” scoffed Ethan trying to imitate what a noble might say.

Suddenly, just as the guards entered the intersection, 12 masked men and women rose from the ground forming a tight circle that blocked off all exits. Their clothing resembled Ethan’s, though with just enough alterations to make them seem real.

“You’ve barked at the wrong master.” said the boy while fighting the nauseating headache taking root in his skull.