Abdin clenched his teeth furiously. This was certainly Yunus' idea. He was the only person who knew that Abdin wouldn't get any bonuses for killing people at a distance of one thousand feet away from the castle.

He realized then that Biyakis' intention wasn't to attack them but to put them under siege.

Yunus knew that water, meat, and fish were scarce in the castle, and he was taking advantage of that to hold them under siege and force them to surrender. With Abdin's cultivation stagnant, the castle wouldn't expand. The residents wouldn't stay hungry for long, and a crisis would certainly ensue. Then Yunus would take advantage of that and destroy him.

He didn't sight him, but he instinctively knew that his cousin was the one in command of the army. No one else knew the secrets of the castle except for him.

Abdin flew up towards the right side of the wall, in plain sight of the enemy. But they were still a thousand feet away, and he could gain nothing by killing them.

Suddenly, he thought he saw some of them grinning at him, challenging him to attack them if he dared. He rubbed his eyes with his hand and looked again. No such thing was happening, and he realized that he was only imagining it. No one was laughing at him.

The warriors themselves looked scared. They were mere puppets ordered to surround the castle and moved no further. They didn't understand how Abdin's skill worked and feared that they would be attacked at any time.

The whole day passed with very little happening, except that the warriors kept to their task of surrounding the castle. While the residents of the castle watched helplessly without any idea what to do.

Following the advice of his commanders, Abdin ordered fire on the enemies. But just as he had guessed, Biyakis came prepared.

The warriors retreated further any time they suspected fire, and soon, they were almost three thousand feet away. Not even an arrow could reach them at that distance. They continued to surround them from that position.

By the third day, they had surrounded half the width of the wall. People began to panic. Many of them began to think of an escape plan, and some of them suggested opening the door and facing the enemies.

Abdin took none of these suggestions. The castle was his fortress, and there was no way he would leave.

Right at that moment, in a hall in the second part of the castle, women, children, and the elderly sat tightly packed together. They all seemed terrified, for even with the distance between the hall and the entrance, they could still hear the chants of the enemies.

On various parts of the castle were situated such halls where women and children awaited the return of their spouses.

Able-bodied men who were non-cultivators could sometimes be found within the fortresses of such halls.

It was San's idea to leave behind such men, especially those without any archery skills. According to him, they could only be a burden on the field if they were allowed to come. And they provide some level of support to the old and the children.

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At this moment, a long-haired woman opened and entered the door of one of those safe houses.

The occupants became frightened at the sound of the door opening. How could the door that was locked from within and without being unlocked so easily? They wondered.

The long-haired woman walked calmly inside as the horde of women instinctively moved back, hiding their children behind them.

The elderly didn't move an inch, either because they couldn't or they had already given up on life. Or perhaps they felt that the woman meant them no harm.

A thirteen-year-old boy drew a wooden sword and went towards the woman. "Who are you?" He asked. "Father said that whoever comes in after he has left isn't a good person."

The strange woman blinked and tilted her head. She glanced at the wooden sword he was holding and then at him. He couldn't be more than ten, and he looked scared. But that didn't prevent him from stepping out to protect his people.

"Would you believe me if I tell you that I am a good person?" She asked, a smile on her face.

The boy hesitated before shaking his head. "What's your proof?" He asked.

She nodded thoughtfully before replying, "My name is Munniq. There is no way someone with a name like that could be evil."

The boy's mother ran towards them at that moment and pulled him away. "Find somewhere to sit and stop rambling," she told Munniq. "I wonder why you didn't come before the door got locked. And now you didn't lock it behind you."

The boy's mother went ahead and bolted the door before going back to her seat.

Munniq stood quietly without a word. The people were still suspicious as to how she was able to open the door so easily, but since the battle hadn't yet commenced and Munniq was unarmed, they disabused their minds of any suspicion.

It was a safe house just like others of its kind reserved as shelters for women. And Munniq too was a woman.

Realizing that everyone had ignored her, Munniq found a spot beside the woman and sat herself down.

Whatever was at stake, the world was due for dying in the next few days. Nothing, and no one, could do anything about that. She thought to herself.

She felt as if to tell these women of their predicament so they would stop worrying about saving themselves because it was of no use.

But she also knew that it would be futile to do so. Anyway, the victory of their so-called Commander was pointless in the current circumstances.

She watched the woman nearest to her holding her baby close as he cried. The mother tried to placate him, but he wouldn't stop until she breastfed him.

Munniq sighed and looked away. She wondered how the mother would feel if she knew that her life and that of her baby would soon come to an end.

Instinctively, Munniq held out a hand to smoothen the child's hair but thought better of it. For almost half an hour, she waited before eventually standing up and going towards the door.

She could hear the woman calling out for her but didn't turn around or stop. She reached the door, opened it, and left, but this time not without shutting it behind her.

Standing just outside the house was Abdin, who stayed motionless until Munniq reached him.

It was the first time these two people ever met since all this started. Munniq had large bright eyes, and even at her age, she still looked stunning. Abdin, on the other hand, looked forty.

Munniq couldn't help but grin. She had wanted to meet him since but never had the chance.

"I am Munniq," she said.

Abdin didn't reply but kept his eyes on her. He always felt it whenever someone sneaked into the castle via his core. That was not counting the three hundred golems keeping watch around the castle, who could always report to him.

That made finding Munniq easier, especially as she didn't even try to be stealthy.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

Munniq scrunched up her face. "It is only polite to introduce ourselves to each other, irrespective of our differences. What's your real name?" She asked again.

In response, Abdin shook his head and turned to leave.

"Wait," she called out. "I am here to discuss strategies on how to win."

He laughed inwardly. There had been some misunderstanding between Munniq and Yunus. What else would force her to come?

"I want you to initiate me into the loop just as you did for Juwaira." Munniq went on.

So she had tried and failed and now shamelessly wanted him to initiate her himself. Annoying and yet funny.

"Why would I do that?" He asked.

"I could help you win," she replied.

Abdin smiled as a thought occurred to him. All three of them didn't trust each other. That was good.