Since Munniq was working with Nanata, that would mean she was also working with Silver Mask. Did that mean the man was also about to make an appearance?

Saba frowned. The target didn't bother to reply to him and he was supposed to bear with it. He was ordered not to kill the target but he could sever his limbs.

The target was estimated to be as strong as an early-stage Deva, and Saba was in middle-stage Deva. Getting a couple of limbs shouldn't be a problem, but unless he made his opponent suffer, he wouldn't be satisfied.

He leaped toward Abdin, summoning a band of molten iron on his palm.

However, as soon as the molten iron appeared, Saba froze mid-air. His body trembled violently before he crashed down, throwing up a lump of blood.

Abdin grinned.

His soul disc glowed:

[You have used a skill beyond your cultivation level. Penalty: 20 years.]

Abdin's initial attack had poisoned the pol of his opponents. The years he lost had entered the core of his enemies and destabilized their cultivation base. It was a simple yet powerful skill where he burned his cultivation together with his opponent's cultivation.

Twenty years weren't enough to injure a Deva. Abdin had used at least 200 years in his last attack. The fact that he only lost 20 years meant that he had used the souls of the dead to fuel the skill. Those four thousand people that the castle swallowed in the last expansion would continue to stay dead after the reset. There was nothing he could do about it so he pushed the thoughts out of his mind.

Say, Yunusu drove out the people in the surrounding villages to prevent Abdin from getting their souls and consequently more power. As though he had known that Abdin would get attacked and would need every trick in his hands to survive.

It mattered little now. The winner had already been decided.

Saba's eyes became fearful. He couldn't use his pol. The power holding his cultivation base together had suddenly vanished and his pol was in disarray. He needed at least an hour to replenish the force and return order to his cultivation base.

But everything was okay just a moment ago... The problem arose when he summoned his skill. Was it carelessness? No. His opponent must have planted something with his first attack. Whatever it was it wouldn't activate until he used a skill.

He sighed. If he didn't have a good foundation, his cultivation base would be destroyed now.

But how did it come to this? His opponent had only used lightning energy to force them back... There must be something unique about that lightning.

Although his cultivation base was more powerful, he would need to be careful. Why didn't the queen mention that their opponent had this skill? Did she also not know... Then he must inform her right away.

He tried to move but his body wouldn't budge an inch.

Abdin used the opportunity and threw a lightning bolt at him.

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The remaining assailants didn't understand what was happening, they couldn't imagine why a Deva would suddenly fall.

Five of them pounced on Abdin, each of them reciting incantations to summon their most powerful attacks. At the same time, the other Deva in the group jumped in front of Saba to block Abdin's lightning bolt for him.

She raised her hand to summon a skill but her attention was drawn to the shouts of her colleagues. Anybody who tried to use a skill would fall to the ground, vomiting blood.

Saba was glued to the ground but he was still trying to warn them. Unfortunately, he couldn't utter a word. He could only watch as his squad fall to the ground.

The woman trying to shield him jumped to the side and dodged the approaching bolt sent by Abdin. She could vaguely understand what was happening and wasn't about to risk her life by trying her luck.

Saba watched as the attack neared him and he couldn't move a muscle. His face became a mask of fear and terror. How he wished he could give anything in the world for his body to move, but there was no such luck.

He wanted to chant some incantation that would help him to escape with his soul. But his mouth couldn't form any words.

Everything froze at that moment and Saba opened his eyes to see why he wasn't hit yet. He saw the bolt of lightning frozen just above his eyes.

Abdin had stopped the attack mid-air. Why? Because a broken man was more likely to speak the truth. "I will give you a chance. What is your mission here?"

Saba was quiet but then laughed. "Do you think I am afraid of death? Haha..."

His laughter died away as Abdin released the spell on him. Saba's head was smashed by the bolt and he instantly fell dead.

A Deva - someone with the highest cultivation rank on the entire continent - was dead before Abdin.

Without using your cultivation to defend yourself, death would be the result no matter how high you were on the cultivation ladder.

Abdin turned to the others who were still floundering helplessly on the ground. They were all staring at him with eyes full of terror.

He flew forward and decapitated six of them in quick swipes, leaving only the huge woman. She was lucky to be able to move as she hadn't used any skills when her comrades did. The moment she realized what happened, she took the necessary measures to ensure her safety.

She turned around and took to her heels. But with a photon jump, Abdin appeared before her, the edge of his sword on her neck.

She had witnessed the fates of her comrades, making her helpless to use any skills. All she could do at the moment was to stand still and glared at Abdin.

"What is your name?" He asked, ignoring her glaring eyes.

"Three."

"Three?" Abdin frowned. What kind of name was that?

The woman nodded. It was the name she was given by Munniq.

Abdin shrugged. Her name wasn't his concern. "What are you here for?"

The woman laughed, and before Abdin could react, she exploded. She became a human explosive and detonated herself along with Abdin.

Flames and a strong hurricane grabbed Abdin and banged him on the wall.

Even Juwaira who stood some distance away got herself slammed into the wall. Her left leg broke in two places, while Abdin was fractured in every part of his body. Blood flowed out from his mouth, nose, and eyes.

The woman was a Deva, but without a second thought, she gave herself up to kill Abdin. It was then that he began to comprehend how loyal his opponents were. They were the type that could go to any extent for a win.

But he was still the winner: he killed two Devas and six pseudo-Devas whereas he only received fatal wounds.

Abdin could withstand any explosion but not a deva's. Especially a deva that sacrificed their soul in the process. Every deva could separate their soul from their body and escape with it in case of need. They could survive with their souls and occupy another body when they got killed.

Most believed that a Deva would never really die because of this technique. To think someone was willing to sacrifice their immortal life to kill him...

Abdin sighed and started meditating with closed eyes. He wanted to quickly heal his injuries. But the sound of hooves coming his way interrupted him. He opened his eyes somewhat with difficulty.

Juwaira's initial pursuers were now approaching the castle. It seemed they had been waiting for this chance.

From the beginning to the end, Abdin had only been fighting for a minute.

Walik had seen everything unfold. As soon as he saw the approaching army, he ordered a fire. And then he sent for Abdin and Juwaira to be carried in.