The moment the 'Eldridge' family name was mentioned, everyone who didn’t know the handsome noble boy’s background gasped.

  That was the strongest family in Ringwood Town! Of course, the town mayor was the strongest individual in the town—that was what all the present children knew.

  Eric was also startled internally. He knew the Eldridge family was the strongest, though he didn’t know why it was so, as he still didn’t understand what Mana Wielders really were. But he recalled Wilburn mentioning they had two Mana Wielders, so that might be the reason.

  Eric turned toward Lyria and Livy and inquired with an indifferent expression, "What did you girls say to his adoption request?" He didn’t give two fucks about Jack’s background, after all, he now knew that Bella Noll was actually the strongest in the town.

  Livy felt jittery hearing Eric’s foreign-like tone, as if he no longer considered them friends. But Lyria knew this wasn’t the time to be lost, so she quickly answered with a clear voice, "We refused and kept refusing, but he never listens!"

  Lyria was also extremely frustrated with Jack’s persistent attempts to take them away to his home. If she weren’t still apprehensive about hitting people in town and creating problems for Eric and the orphanage, she would have already broken Jack’s face by now.

  Eric glanced back at Jack with an even more disdainful expression. "What are you planning? Taking the orphanage children against their will?"

  Jack replied confidently, without any remorse in his tone, "They’re just nervous and unsure right now. I’m sure they’ll understand that I, Jack Eldridge of the Great Eldridge Family—the strongest noble family in Ringwood Town—am far more capable of taking care of them than your shitty orphanage. My Eldridge family is the only one who can give them the best! And they’ll soon realize this and follow me."

  Eric took a deep breath.

  He could swallow insults directed at him with a wide smile, but this Jack was crossing the line. How dare he insult the orphanage? That was the same as looking down on Bella Noll and all her hard work and commitment to it!

  But Eric still didn’t let out his temper. Hitting a noble scion would pointlessly bring trouble to him and Bella Noll. Even so, he wouldn’t take another insult from Jack aimed at the orphanage—otherwise, he’d smash that mouth!

  Eric was no longer in the mood for pointless conversation, so he looked toward Lyria and Livy and concluded the matter: “Since both of you have refused to be adopted, you still belong to the orphanage. Let’s return.” He turned and walked toward the school gate.

  Eric’s declaration was a clear announcement to Jack and everyone present—he wanted them to know this charade had ended and they were leaving.

  Jack was furious. All his hard work was ruined! He’d tried so hard, and now it was wasted by some orphanage bastard.

  He came from the only noble family in Ringwood Town with two Mana Wielders! There was nothing he couldn’t have!

  Jack stepped forward and threw a punch straight at Eric’s face, snarling, “Who do you think you are? Did I say you could leave?”

  Eric was already fed up with Jack. The moment Jack stepped forward, Eric noticed, and saw the punch coming.

  Eric finally snapped.

  He turned around and, with a quick reflex, moved his left forearm up, deflecting Jack’s punch to the left while stepping forward and slapping Jack’s face.

  SLAP!

  The slap was so loud and violent that Jack flew and rolled on the ground, then started spitting blood along with some teeth.

  Eric hadn't held back at all with that slap, but he didn’t expect it would injure Jack so severely. He'd still underestimated his own progress in strength since yesterday’s training.

  Jack couldn't mentally grasp what had just occurred. He'd almost envisioned his punch knocking Eric's teeth out, yet now his own teeth were falling out!

  Jack was terrified, but as a scion who always held enormous power and authority, he couldn’t, and didn’t know how to, back down in his own town. So he swiftly jumped back up and squeaked like a pig, "How dare you, you bastard parentless loser! Abandoned-" He charged toward Eric while insulting him, but his voice sounded awful due to many of his missing teeth.

  Eric had had enough. He decided it was better to shut this brat’s mouth.

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  Since he had already hit Jack once, Eric chose not to act politely. He took another step forward and, with lightning speed, delivered a kick right at that babbling mouth charging at him.

  The kick was so fast that Jack couldn’t even react before it landed squarely on his lips.

  A loud, bone-crushing noise echoed.

  Jack crashed onto the ground, spitting even more blood and teeth.

  Eric had significantly held back with the last kick; otherwise, that would have been Jack's end.

  But after this attack, he had no more time to waste; he needed to rush back to the orphanage as fast as possible.

  Jack realized how seriously injured he was and was furious beyond reason, yet simultaneously terrified as it was his first time being so severely wounded. He feared his handsome face was ruined after losing so many teeth.

  Jack tried to order his subordinates, but no words came out—only blood and teeth kept falling from his mouth.

  Eric retracted his leg and said coldly, "This matter ended the moment both girls refused to be adopted."

  "Let’s go." Eric glanced at Lyria and Livy, then strode toward Hannah, still waiting outside the gate.

  Lyria and Livy were completely bewildered by the fight. They didn’t understand why Jack had attacked so suddenly when the matter had already been concluded and they were leaving peacefully.

  They didn’t say anything and quickly followed behind Eric.

  All the students were extremely shocked and scared by Jack being beaten down.

  The student thugs could indeed bully other students, but they had never seen such bloody, bone-breaking fights, so they all stayed back without being able to provide any timely help to Jack. They also could not figure out what they were supposed to do now.

  As Eric approached, the crowd quickly parted and allowed all three of them to leave.

  The students still hadn’t come to their senses. They were, after all, just children and had been receiving proper education from school instead of living as street thugs.

  Jack desperately wanted to shout at his useless subordinate, but the more he tried to talk, the more blood he coughed up. Talking at this moment was impossible, and even standing up was very difficult. Jack was in so much pain that he had never experienced anything like it before.

  Eric quickly arrived in front of Hannah. Before she could ask or say anything, he promptly ended the conversation: "Let’s return."

  Eric then started walking toward the orphanage. As he walked, his speed kept increasing with each step.

  Hannah understood that something major must have happened as she had never seen such a grave expression on Eric’s face before. So she didn’t ask anything and quickly followed behind, trying to match his pace.

  After walking far enough and out of the school’s direct line of sight, Eric started sprinting without a word.

  Lyria, Livy, and Hannah were startled but swiftly chased after him.

  This time, Eric wasn’t running at a jogging pace for Hannah to easily catch up. Instead, he made sure she had to sprint with everything she had just to keep his shadow in sight.

  Eric didn’t want to abandon Hannah, but she wasn’t the target—he was, along with Lyria and Livy perhaps. So he didn’t care whether Hannah could catch up or not. Still, thanks to the crowded street, Hannah managed to keep up.

  Both Lyria and Livy were puzzled. They couldn't understand why Eric was so panicked that he didn’t even want to pause and explain to them why he was in such a hurry, almost as if he would die if he slowed down even a little. But they didn’t question anything at this moment, as they had faith in Eric. Since he told them to follow, they would follow him at their highest speed.

  Half an hour’s walking distance was reduced to less than a dozen minutes.

  Only when Eric arrived near the vicinity of the orphanage did he slow down and breathe a sigh of relief. He turned around to see Hannah gasping for breath, but she had managed to catch up with them.

  Just as all four of them arrived and entered the orphanage gate, they heard a furious roar from behind them, charging toward them at monstrous speed. "You bastards, wait! How dare you attack the only heir of the Eldridge Family?!"

  Eric turned around and gaped at the unnaturally inhuman speed of the middle-aged man.

  The man wore a brown leather jacket and had a trimmed beard and mustache.

  Cooper Eldridge

  The middle-aged man almost looked like he was flying, but he was actually using walls and houses as springboards to charge toward them.

  Lyria and Livy’s faces paled.

  Mana Wielder!

  No matter how much one tries, no Mortals could ever fight or outrun a Mage—much less a Warrior , who is far superior in physical aspects to a Mage.

  Lyria and Livy had no way of knowing if the person was a Warrior or a Mage, but the way this man was sprinting toward them was something normally only a Warrior would do.

  Lyria, Livy, and Hannah finally understood why Eric had run so fast and never waited to explain anything to them—otherwise, they would have panicked too.

  The pressure emanating from the Warrior was so intense that all of them felt suffocated.

  Eric was the most affected, as he was the true target of that invisible 'pressure'.

  Eric used to think Mana Wielders were only slightly more capable than normal humans physically, but he never expected them to be like walking radiation!

  Even from a distance—without physical contact—Eric felt as if he were being crushed by a mountain, the weight distributed across his entire body, including internal organs and bones.

  If he had received such an invisible attack while running earlier, forget about resisting—he would’ve become a sitting duck, powerless to even lift a finger, exactly as he was now.

  Currently, he was barely holding back from getting completely flattened to the ground.

  Eric was certain this was neither fear nor some psychological attack, but an actual 'physical' assault—one he didn’t understand at all. How was such an attack even possible? It felt as if something were pressing him down from inside his body, making it nearly impossible to stand.

  Hannah noticed the Mana Wielder charging straight toward Eric. She immediately knew now was not the time to give in to fear, so she yelled as loudly as possible, "HOUSE MOTHER!"

  Bella Noll, inside her office, had already heard the Mana Wielder’s threatening shout and wondered who this person was chasing. She stood up and was slowly heading toward her window to investigate when Hannah’s cry pierced the air. Instantly, she knew something was wrong.

  Her expression changed. She didn't hesitate, jumped out the window, and used the wall to propel herself straight toward Hannah's location.