At the second farm, Ethan shortened the formation’s timer to reduce the chances of another pursuit. However, the countdown was now rapidly reaching its end.

“You made this thing?” he asked the old lady.

“Do you like it? It’s my pride and joy.”

“Well, your pride and joy is about to go boom.” warned Ethan.

“Like the one in the North?” asked the woman seriously. “I won’t allow it.”

Two minutes were left on Ethan’s mental clock. Pretty soon, he’d have to outrun a rank 5 explosion.

“Listen…” he pleaded while slowly moving towards the barrier. “I’m just going to stop the timer, so we don’t all get roasted.” Given the current situation, he needed to at least delay it for a few minutes.

A miniature tornado appeared in the old lady’s hand.

“Not a step closer, brat.”

‘F**k.’ Now that she released some mana, Ethan could finally track down its source. There seemed to be a veil of sorts blocking his senses. Upon closer inspection…

“You’ve built formations on yourself?” he blurted out.

“Observant brat...”

‘Is that even possible?’ Ethan wanted to examine this woman, but he’d first have to take her out. ‘If I’m lucky, then maybe she’s rank three? Bloody hell, my luck is shit.’

“Though it’s amusing to mess with children, I do have work to do, kid. If you don’t mind, how about you use those little flames on me and see what happens.”

Ethan had been funneling mana out of the air throughout the conversation. His Burst Nova was already close to what killed the first guard captain.

“Fine.” The youth reached deep into his dimensional pocket and sucked out every ounce of mana from the remaining cores. Almost instantly, the energy in his palm tripled in size.

“Ooh, impres…”

Not wanting to give the guard more time, Ethan shot forward a miniature sun. The woman countered with a gust of wind that took the form of thousands of transparent knives.

Fortunately, as soon as the flames left his hand, Ethan dashed towards the left. Since his miniature sun was cut to ribbons less than a second later, the choice was correct. However, just nine feet into his sprint, a wrinkly palm appeared out nowhere and grabbed his neck.

The old lady threw Ethan head first into the force field as if he were a ragdoll. But, even after hearing a suspicious crack in his neck and feeling his thoughts turn muddy, the boy still tried access the formation.

He tried to enter it to buy himself time. And, in his normal state, he might have succeeded.

- Boom! -

Once again, the guard smashed his brains into the barrier, except this time she did not let go.

“Persistent, but pointless.” The old mage began examining his body as if he were a lab rat. She planned on taking him back to her house to pry his head open, first figuratively and then literally.

The other guards began approaching as well. It did not take long for the ones that went to check the explosions to return, and they had arrived just in time to enjoy the show.

“It’s going to blow!” grunted Ethan. He started circulating mana into his brain to try and stabilize it.

“No worries.” said the woman while placing a hand on the wall. “I’ll fix it right up.”

However, the condescending smile she wore since the beginning was fading the further she delved into the formation. Ethan’s ancient methods were alien to her, and although she could probably figure out the differences, it would take more than a few minutes to do so.

Suddenly, Ethan’s grim expression changed into a grin.

“It’s pointless.” He muttered. There were 20 seconds left on the clock.

“You little…”

“It’s over.”

“…”

Suddenly, the old guard’s eyes lost their color and her body went limp. Released from her grip, Ethan held her from collapsing. Before old woman lost consciousness, the last 2 words she heard were “Thank you.”

If she had not gotten close, Ethan wouldn’t have stood a chance. If she had not lowered her awareness by focusing on the barrier, he wouldn’t have been able to slip poison into her body.

Fortunately, not even the formation she built on herself could stop Ethan’s concoction. After disintegrating the guard’s organs, he barely managed to contain it before it destroyed her completely.

“Thank you for the treasure.” he muttered again. The runes inscribed on her body would bring his knowledge of formations into the modern era. Now, if he could just get past the nine angry guards that surrounded him.