Ten experts with cultivation at the deva stage set out for the mission. Two went with Juwaira, another two led a hundred men to chase, and six got hidden and poised for a chance to sneak unnoticed into the castle.

Munniq had cloned each of Juwaira's men and sent them with the princess to return to the castle.

As she galloped, the princess recounted her recent predicament with a defeated sigh.

Munniq let go of her mother but she captured her men instead. Currently being used as bait, she believed they would never let her men go. The only reason she was putting up with it was hope. If she disobeyed, they died. But if she obeyed, they stay alive for the time being. She hoped to find a solution before it was too late.

What shook her to the core was the discovery that Nanata's blood circulated in her veins. That her mother was from Nanata, making her one of them. To top it all, Munniq was the sovereign queen and leader of the tribe.

Despite the torture she underwent, in the end, Bidal tasked Juwaira to help Munniq for the betterment of the tribe. Unsettling thoughts had raced through Juwaira's mind when she heard her mother say this.

Was Bidal truly her mom? Wasn't it possible that it was a human golem speaking on her mother's behalf?

During her capture, Juwaira had discovered that Munniq could create human golems with a near-perfect resemblance. It was practically impossible to differentiate her golems from the real. Although it would be nigh impossible to replicate the memories of a living person, Munniq seemed to be doing a good job at it.

Or maybe her mother was real and not a golem. But while under torture, her mom ordered her not to tell them anything. She seemed to hate them so much. But shortly after, she spoke of loyalty to Nanata. The two things were contradictory.

Juwaira turned to look at the men on their trail. Munniq had set everything quite realistically. Her plan wouldn't be called out even if Abdin had sent out spies.

Unless Juwaira would reveal everything to him, Munniq would certainly have her way and finish him off. But if she didn't complete her mission, Munniq would kill her men and then go to Shurein to kill Bidal and everyone related to her. Munniq could still kill them even if she completed the mission.

The princess steeled her resolve after some thought. They reached the castle and Abdin was at the moment having their audience.

Munniq asked for two things from her: one, make Abdin open the gate for them; two, distract him until the other men sneaked into the castle and lay an ambush.

Now that Juwaira saw him, she had no intention of fulfilling the orders. She no longer cared.

Her first tactic was to let him know that something was amiss. So she blinked, scratched her forehead, and lied. She could reveal everything to him directly but she feared that Munniq was nearby.

But, then, she realized Abdin was already caught in Munniq's web, and it was all her fault. Even without letting them in, she wasted enough of his time to allow the intruders a chance to sneak in.

Letting them in at the moment would just make matters worse. So she decided to spill everything out. It was the least she could do. She didn't even know if what she was doing was right or not, but she wasn't about to stand and let him get killed.

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She bit her tongue and screamed the words: "Commander! It is Munniq the queen of Nanata who sent us. Men are already in the castle waiting to ambush you..." the remaining words in her mouth were forcefully choked down after the young man who spoke earlier raised a hand and smacked her.

Blood gushed out from her mouth as her two front teeth dropped to the ground. The princess lost her balance on the saddle and fell.

Abdin had already guessed that something was off, so it didn't come to him as a surprise. He quickly drew his sword and released his cultivation, ready for battle.

"Haha. Commander." Saba gave a cynical laugh.

He was at the moment holding Juwaira by the hair. "There seems to be some special relationship between you two. What do you think about a nice carving on her beautiful face?"

He brought a knife out and poised. Suddenly his cultivation rose from the middle foundation establishment stage to the peak core formation stage. Then it climbed further to the pseudo-Deva stage and subsequently to the realm beyond.

Abdin wasn't fazed by that, instead, he looked at Juwaira. He didn't know what happened to her in the past few weeks, but her recent act earned her some points.

Munniq. Queen of Nanata. This was the first time he heard the name. It wasn't just Laluri but the entire Nanata who were invested in invading the planet.

With practice ease, Abdin leaped over the wall and landed in front of the castle. The eight or so men surrounded him as soon as he landed. Saba flung Juwaira aside and stabbed him wildly with his dagger.

Abdin held his sword with both hands and channeled two hundred years of pol into it. The sword's edge started ringing and giving off a dark glow. The glow transformed into a lightning bolt within the next second, before exploding and pushing away everyone surrounding him.

The eight men felt their cultivation shake violently as if about to explode. Five of them fell on their knees, vomiting blood when they could no longer withstand it. But in the moment, they all regained their composure and stood again. They weren't pseudo-Deva or Deva for nothing.

Abdin had used the brief chance to reach Saba and swung his sword at him. The blade's edge darkened the more it neared its target.

Saba used his bare hand to block it, but the sword easily sliced through his bones. He borrowed the momentum to take a step back.

The two sides faced each other again. On one hand, Abdin and Juwaira stood. On the other, the invaders.

In the next moment, the invaders released their full cultivation. Six of them were pseudo-Deva, while two were Deva.

Saba's stump began to glow and a new hand emerged to replace the severed one. The features of the young man transformed into that of a bald old man with dark-brown eyes.

They all transformed. Denyanu became a woman and he was the second Deva after Saba. The rest were all pseudo-Deva.

Saba laughed. Deva was a cultivation level that let a person control the world. So regrowing a severed hand was nothing to them.

"Someone predicted that you would hide in the castle and wouldn't show yourself. Well, it seems he doesn't know you. All we need is to show you a pretty face and voila!"

The man turned slightly towards Juwaira, and seeing how she was holding firmly unto her sword, he looked amused. He laughed out loud and looked away from her as if he pitied her.

"Who might you be?" Abdin asked, ignoring the fact that someone was giving predictions about him. Who was that someone? Could it be Yunusu? No, Yunusu wouldn't dare think he was a coward after defeating him and sending him to his grave.

Saba smiled. He was briefed about the mechanics of his opponent's skill, so the mission became much simpler.

"Coming with us without any resistance would guarantee that you wouldn't get hurt," Saba replied. "We are also at liberty to kill and take your body with us. It wouldn't make any difference to us whatever you choose."

Juwaira, who now stood beside Abdin, whispered to him. "Munniq is aware of the black Ayrid."

That should be obvious by now. At least, the so-called queen wouldn't want him dead right away. If she knew about the loop, then she must know that killing him wouldn't serve her right. That should be an advantage to him for now. At least he knew Saba was lying about killing him.

She sighed and whispered, "I think she asked them to cut your limbs off and take them to her."

Abdin clenched his teeth. What the heck do they need his limbs for?