Suddenly a breaking sound was heard, but it wasn't Zan's skull that made the noise, but Zolar's two fingers. The elder brother once again could not believe his eyes. He saw a thin, faint red, water-like layer covering Zan. He knew that what was around Zan's body was the same type of transparent 'armor', which he was so proud of, and which he always used to protect himself, aura.

At first, other than his shock, Zolar didn't feel anything; however, after a few breaths, he sensed terrible pain coming from his right wrist. He tried to back away, but he couldn't. His wrist was still gripped tightly by the boy.

Zan, however, suddenly let go of Zolar's arm, and by doing so, the elder brother lost his balance and fell onto his back.

Zolar didn't lie on the ground for a long time, and he quickly sat up, but now what he saw in front of him was not a little boy but a warlord who stood above everyone else. He saw Zan's eyes burning in crimson color, and it looked like they were thirsty for his blood.

Zolar felt a tremendous amount of pressure on his body that made him barely able to breathe, and just as he was about to say something, a punch landed on his face. The blow broke many of his teeth and immediately made him lose his conscience.

"Take this goof away from my sight and never appear in front of me again," Zan said to the smaller Smith boy, who could only nod with his head and carried away his unconscious brother.

Zan then stepped to Liria, who was lying on the ground unconsciously. When he saw her blood slowly dripping out of her mouth, he became frightened and feared that she suffered a serious injury from the young man's slap. But now he didn't have time to think about possibilities, so he quickly picked the little beauty up in his arms and ran.

Zan knew that the only one who could help Liria was his mother, and he could only hope that by the time he would arrive at their hut, his mom would already be there.

...

When Zan opened the door of their small house, he saw Arilia sitting on her chair while stacking various vials. Most of these little jars had transparent liquid in them, but some of them contained pink, blue, or green fluids.

"Put Liria on the bed," Arilia said to his son as soon as she saw the youngsters.

Zan did as his mother ordered him and immediately explained how the girl received her injury.

Arilia, while was listening to her child's story, examined Liria's face and checked her pulse at her neck. "She has a small cut on her mouth, but none of her teeth broke, and there is no sign of serious injury." Then she put some ointment on the girl's lip. "After a few days, there will be no signs of it."

Hearing his mother's words, Zan felt relieved. He thought that Liria received a heavy injury from the slap, but when it turned out to be nothing serious, he breathed a sigh of relief.

However, suddenly he felt like a bolt of lightning struck him, and only now did he realize that almost every part of his body was in tremendous pain. Till this moment, he didn't pay attention to his injuries, but now that Liria was safe, he did, and it was an unpleasant feeling.

"Come here. I will put some ointment on your injuries as well," Arilia said, then she gently put a little cream on her son's lip, eyebrow, arms, and torso. "What happened to the Smith boys?"

"I knocked Zolar out and frightened Telar out of his wits," Zan said.

"Good. They got what they deserved. But just to make sure I will visit them later and give them a good lesson not to ever bully my little daughter-in-law again."

"I don't think that will be necessary. Now he should know where he belongs."

"It is always better to be cautious," Arilia said. "Go lie down. I will take my little daughter-in-law home."

"All right," Zan nodded. He didn't need to be told twice to rest. His body was hurting all over. If Liria wasn't in danger, he would have already collapsed from exhaustion.

Zan went to his room and fell into his straw bed. He closed his eyes and recalled today's events: the struggle, the battle, the fear, the anger, and the limitless power he felt during the fight. He clenched his right hand, and around his fist, a faint red layer appeared which looked like water, yet it wasn't wet and looked like light, yet it didn't glow. 'Finally, I've awakened,' he thought to himself while smiling.