By now, the sun was already up. They had up to sixteen hours before they reached the first town, Nanila.

Abdin led the way. It wasn't until mid-afternoon the next day that they reached their destination. And that was with the help of their cultivation.

It was an average town with an earthen wall. It wasn't a very high wall either, and any cultivator could jump over it. But there were some low-level cultivators stationed at the gates.

The gate was currently opened and people meandered to and fro with their baggage.

Abdin walked over with his company and paid ten ayrids each as a gate fee before they were allowed in. They were almost through the crowd of people when one of the guards stopped them.

"Who is that covering their face?" He asked.

The voice was sudden but it was directed at them. They drew their reins and halted. Slowly, Juwaira turned to face the guard. "I am called Haika. I cover my face because of an unsightly scar that I have from a young age."

The guard frowned. An unsightly scar? That didn't make any sense. The person before him had the voice of a man and men weren't afraid of scars. He felt something was off.

Denyanu didn't like a small-town guard questioning his princess. He cleared his throat and let his cultivation out a little. The guard instinctively withdrew. He couldn't sense any pol from them at first, but just now, he felt eighty-one years from the old man.

That was even more than that of his superior. He had no power to clash with these people even if the elderly man was the sole cultivator among them. Besides, there was no law banning visitors from entering the town even if they covered their faces.

The guard bowed slightly. "You are welcome, fellow cultivators."

Without replying, Abdin and his party rode away into the town. The other visitors were all common men free of any pol and didn't notice the incident.

When Abdin's party reached a turning and disappeared from his sight, the guard took hold of the young man beside him and whispered.

The young man nodded and quickly followed after them.

Abdin and Juwaira were either oblivious to what happened after they left the gates or didn't care. They went directly to the heart of the town and found a motel. The buildings were mostly made of mud or sometimes hay. But it was still a big town with more than five thousand houses, shops, and an average-sized market at the heart of the town.

Abdin chose a room at the far end of the motel, and they entered and locked the door behind them. It was then that Juwaira removed her scarf to reveal her beautiful face.

"What do you think, you've seen the town? There are about thirteen thousand people here. We come to save them from perishing, but how are we going to do that?"

Denyanu and Juwaira exchanged looks.

"It is quite difficult, the way I see it... " Denyanu started but Juwaira interrupted him.

"Fire." She nodded solemnly. "I have given the matter some thought. These people won't simply leave their homes. Especially as there isn't any proof that they are in danger. But burning the town would make them homeless and they won't have any reason to stay - they would be forced to leave. Yes, they are going to suffer losses but they would live."

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Denyanu nodded in agreement. "The princess is always right."

"How do you think we are going to burn the town without killing anyone?" Abdin asked.

Juwaira raised a finger. She had given it much thought. "First, we can make the town head call for a meeting. If he orders everyone to attend, then they would be forced to do so. Or, we can create some distraction that lures everyone out of their homes."

Abdin slowly drew a breath. "This town is under Biyakis. But let's assume the empire's representatives, who are currently living in the town, won't give us any problems. Where are all these people going to move to, when their homes and food get burned?" He paused and gave the princess a meaningful look. "There are pregnant women and children who couldn't go far on foot. Most of them would die before they are rescued. The smoke would be enough to kill any normal human. Wuran is the nearest place to them, but they are not on good terms with each other. Even if they are, Wuran has nowhere to keep all the people here. In such a case, only the nobility and the rich would escape."

Juwaira lowered her head. She never thought of it from that angle. "But why can't we capture the town head and force him to drive everyone out of the town?"

Abdin smiled. He had tried all these before but they never worked. "Do you think the town head has the power to do such a thing without explicit approval from Biyakis? He is just a small-town head. There is a kingdom head above him, and the chief of the kingdom heads above that. There is the emperor at the helms of the whole hierarchy."

Juwaira sighed. Biyakis and Shurein had almost the same organization, so she understood all the chains in the ladder of leadership. But she could see no other way, unless... "Why can't we capture a few demon beasts and send them to drive everyone out? I know that some of them would die, but it is better than losing them all."

"We can do that, or send ghouls or ghosts, but Biyakis wouldn't keep silent about it. What is the essence of the town being part of their ward if they do nothing at such an occurrence? And every leader would be apprehensive when they heard about demon beasts coming this close to them. Biyakis would create a guild that would investigate the matter. I wouldn't be surprised if they send core formation experts to investigate. And in such a case, Nanila would have already gotten help from above before they ever think of leaving."

"What do you feel we should do?" Asked Juwaira. "You must have something up your sleeves since you brought us here."

Abdin scratched his forehead. They wouldn't get it so easy even if they had a plan. The human mind was complicated - winning over something in one situation, wouldn't be a solution in another.

"I want us to invite the town head to the castle. It is a law in Biyakis for every leader to be a cultivator. The higher their cultivation, the higher their hierarchy and status. This is why the nobility are the greediest when it comes to cultivation, as it helps in elevating their status. Using man's greed to control him is sometimes more rewarding than using brute force."

Juwaira was silent. Nanila was a small town. The head should be at the ki condensation stage. The moment he attained foundation establishment, he would be promoted. And all the neighboring towns would be under his watch then. That was enough to taunt everyone's greed.

She stared at Abdin. Could this be done in two months?

Abdin nodded. "But whatever we do, we need to avoid the Biyakis representatives that are living here. That is the only way we can silently move the town head up the ladder without anyone being the wiser. Once he's high enough, we will have him do our bidding without lifting a finger while we watch from the side."

Juwaira nodded in agreement, but then remembered how difficult it would be to find the town head alone. People would always be around a town head no matter how inconsequential.

"I once successfully sneaked into his chambers," Abdin said. He had visited Nanila while scouting the towns that would be involved in the castle's expansion, long before his resolution to bring the castle over.

Juwaira merely shook her head. Was there any place he hadn't been to?

"Both of you would keep watch to make sure no one disturbs us as we speak."

They planned their next move there in the motel room, and at two in the morning, they came out and went into the town. Abdin cloaked them in [chameleon] and made them invisible.

They took only an hour to enter and leave the small palace. During that time, Abdin had thirty minutes discussion with the town head, where he presented him with his request.

They left for the next town before dawn.

The sun of the next day was already up when they arrived at Wuran, and they were forced to wait until nightfall before they went to the palace and presented the same proposition to the town head.

With everything done, they returned to the castle. They spent three days on the road.