Abdin slowly nodded. All the foodstuffs at the market now were the ones brought from the outside - they were what everyone could salvage from their previous dwellings before coming to the castle. Soon, everything would finish, and by then, it would be harvest season. He would then create a fixed price for the goods.

"It will do," he replied. "But I want hunting banned. Anyone who wants to go hunting must sign to sell everything to us and at the price we want. We shall, in turn, sell it at the market. The same applies to the fishermen."

"And I also want the security tightened at the marketplace. Every shop would be taxed weekly. Dispatch men to take a survey of the goods sold by each trader. The size of the business will determine the tax." Abdin paused to take a breath.

"As for the unproductive ones around the castle, put a levy on them also. It is high time we have money in the coffers."

Juwaira nodded. They spent the day discussing the economy before eventually drifting into another topic.

The news coming in from the outside world showed that the conflict taking place in the neighboring empires had calmed down. Jubu, Kininura, and Emperor Biyakin, who had led an offensive toward the neighboring empires, had, in the end, been chased out.

The reports showed that the casualties were significant, but the Biyakis Commander, together with the prince and the emperor, had all survived and safely returned home.

However, now the neighboring empires were offended and showed signs of retaliation.

Abdin had already realized that the Jubu and Kininura he had earlier killed were golems. But that didn't surprise him, considering that Biyakis were allied with Munniq.

"They must have gotten what they wanted," Abdin said thoughtfully.

Juwaira nodded in agreement. They both understood that the empire's retreat was not due to defeat but some other unknown reason. Whatever it was, it meant they would now focus on the castle again.

Abdin was puzzled about Munniq, Nanata, and Silver Mask changing their plans this time. They hadn't used the royal children as bait, and Munniq had taken Silver Mask's place as the leader of the offensive, while Silver Mask himself remained unseen. He believed that Yunus' appearance was connected to these changes. Unlike before, Yunus' actions now affected the time loop.

The time loop was just like stagnant water disturbed by thrown stones. The currents changed, affecting Abdin's and Yunus' positions in the loop. Additionally, Munniq sought to claim Abdin's skill and was also aware of the loop. Since the citizens of Biyakis held a grudge against him for taking over their land, she would have an easy time manipulating them to do her bidding.

The smartest thing to do in such a situation would be to flee, but the Origin and the Satedel would still be waiting for him, escaping futile. Abdin wanted to ask the princess for her opinion, but he knew her knowledge of the loop was limited.

"Commander! Commander!" someone called from outside.

"We are under attack!"

There was a scream, and King Kilod barged in without asking for permission.

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"An attack?" Abdin frowned.

King Kilod nodded vigorously.

"An army of at least five thousand soldiers appeared in front of the gate. They rained lightning, flames, and arrows upon us," explained Kilod.

"What do you mean by 'they appeared'?" Abdin asked, seemingly calm. He added, "Did they drop from the skies?"

Kilod hesitated before slowly nodding. He still hadn't fully comprehended the situation. He had been on guard upon the wall since morning, and in the late afternoon, he turned around to speak to one of his subordinates, but when he looked back, they had already appeared.

He felt that either they dropped from the sky or materialized out of thin air.

Abdin, along with Juwaira, followed him to the entrance gate. This came at a time when they thought they could relax after they toured the castle.

At the gate, a squad of men, all standing in rank, faced the enemy. San was on the wall leading a legion of cultivators to stand proudly.

There was a lull in the exchange of fire by the time Abdin reached the wall. The invading army wore white uniforms with badges adorned with a symbol of the swan.

A young rider was leading them, and when he spotted Abdin led by King Kilod, he stepped forward and faced them.

"I am Commander Ela," he said, addressing Abdin. He seemed to be looking down at them despite being on the ground. "I am here on the orders of the high emperor Biyakin. The emperor needs to meet with your leader. I give you thirty minutes to produce him, and then no one is going to get hurt," he paused for a moment before continuing.

"I am ordered to take him to the emperor to face the consequences of his actions, and I am also at liberty to incinerate you all and take your carcasses if you disobey." As he spoke, his eyes blazed as if with flames.

Abdin frowned in confusion. The man calling himself Ela was a sixth-level core formation expert, while the rest of his men were lower in level, most of them were at the foundation establishment stage. There was no way Biyakin would send such a scanty army to the castle.

By now, emperor Biyakin should have had an estimate of Abdin's strength. If he could kill Kininura and Jubu so easily and disband the army of Nanata, then Ela wouldn't pose any problems. There must be an ulterior motive behind his coming.

His encounter with Munniq immediately came to his mind. She had sent Juwaira and her men to distract him while six deva golems sneaked into the castle to ambush him. There was a possibility that Biyakin was trying to do the same this time around.

Still, this squad of men couldn't waste a minute of his time. He could destroy them in a matter of seconds if he wanted. Surely, there was some other reason for sending them apart from being mere distractions. He had a feeling that there was a certain reason why this squad was there, but it eluded him. Munniq and Yunus probably had something to do with it.

He watched them in silence. Even lowly ki condescension stage cultivators were present among them. Biyakin wouldn't send such an army if they were aiming to win. He sighed wearily.

From the time cultivation reaches a certain stage, the battle would change from physical to mental warfare. Whoever his opponent was, they had understood that, and in effect, were trying to divert Abdin's attention elsewhere.

Destroying this little army in front of him would make him the acclaimed winner physically, but that was probably what his opponents wanted. But allowing them to go unpunished would give them the chance to hurt his men.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, then began to chant. Clouds gathered over Ela even before he finished his pitiful speech. In less than a second, the clouds spread and made a canopy over the whole squad.

"Attack! Don't leave anyone alive and..." Commander Ela roared, but his words died down as thunder descended upon them. Only ashes remained in the minutes afterward. Five thousand men all turned to naught in one stroke of fury!

King Kilod stared at Abdin and swallowed uneasily. The rest of the men were also staring in open-mouthed wonder at him, but Abdin didn't feel at all victorious. He had defeated Ela and his men, but he felt that his opponent was the one who had won.

"Keep watching," he told them. "Inform me straightaway if anything suspicious happens."

With that, Abdin turned around and descended the wall back to the castle.

On his way back, he summoned a hundred golems and sent them to investigate the castle.

Three days later, the dust settled down, and the castle returned to its normal calm and peaceful coexistence. People returned to their normal activities. Most of them felt that with the Commander at the helm of things, they would come to no harm.