Abdin raised his hand and the golem halted.

He didn't think the man would come to him so easily, and suddenly, his plan to kill the man changed.

He needed to use this chance to lord over the sect. In terms of influence, a cultivation sect was way above Sulat's little village. Their history went way back. They had thousands of disciples, cultivation manuals, and treasures.

The size of Will of San was about three to four towns combined. And everyone there was a cultivator, unlike in towns where the commoners made up more than half the population.

Abdin needed their help now more than ever.

He stared at Tairen. "I am the King here. Walik (or is it Leader San?), ran away and left me for the dead. I almost died because of that singular act." He took a breath and went on, "That alone attracts a death penalty. But as if it wasn't enough, he voted to hand me over to the enemy, just moments ago. That is another death sentence. And you supporting him is also a death sentence to you too.

"Do you, perhaps, believe there is something in this world you can offer that will make me forgive you?"

Tairen lowered his head in confusion. Was there something else besides the Will of San that the Commander wanted?

"We will do anything you ask if you forgive us this one time," Tairen pleaded.

Abdin waved him off. He had a lot to do at the moment and didn't want to waste much time on them. "I want you to go to Will of San and bring everyone with a cultivation above two hundred years of pol," he told him.

"They will relocate here with a promise to defend the castle. If I am satisfied that you follow my instructions accordingly, only then will I consider your pardon."

"Consider it done, Commander," Tairen said, rising quickly to his feet.

As he turned to leave, Abdin stopped him by saying, "Are you leaving without taking a cultivation oath?"

Tairen slowly turned around, defeated. "I, Tairen Sani," he started. "Son of sect leader Sani, have pledged my life in loyalty to the Commander."

His body glowed, sealing the oath.

By now, sect leader San's heart had already weakened. He never thought coming to the castle would turn out this way. He wouldn't have ventured out if he had foreseen it. But he had already done it, and as a result, his only son was now bound to a stranger. He knew perfectly well that he had no other choices, and his life was at the mercy of Abdin.

"What about you?" Abdin's voice sliced through his thoughts.

San slowly raised his head. "I, sect leader Sani, have taken an oath to serve the Commander until the end of my life. I shall never partake in anything that could harm him," he said.

He stood up and bowed reverently toward Abdin.

"Do you think an oath is enough?" Abdin asked him. "Your offenses are numerous."

The sect leader smiled bitterly, and then stiffly rummaged through his bag and brought out a charm, which he offered to Abdin.

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It was tiny and looked rather unassuming at first glance. A black strip adorned its bottom edge, and a tiny face was woven at the center of it with green threads.

Abdin snatched it away even before San could properly present it.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

Abdin's face momentarily transformed from fury to wonder and awe.

San hesitated before replying, "I inherited this charm from my father, who also inherited it from his father. We do not know its origin, and none of us have ever used it before. My father had agreed not to use it until we attain Deva. But up to this moment, no one from our clan has ever reached Deva. I shall pledge over this charm if the Commander would pardon me of my crimes."

"I shall pardon you, but this must be the last," Abdin replied, tucking away his elation. "I want you now to go and rally our men in the castle. We shall face the enemy by evening. And you too, Tairen," he said, turning to Tairen. "Try and get to Will of San in time. Renga and Cemu shall assist San in rallying the men. Every cultivator should be called to duty regardless of their limits."

Each of them was assigned their duties, and the four men bowed and left. It was now only Abdin, his golems, and Yunus. Before he left, Renga glanced at Yunus and then at Abdin with pleading eyes.

Abdin didn't intend to kill the young man, but he also didn't intend to let him roam freely around either. He still couldn't trust him. Now left alone with only the two of them, Abdin reached out with his hand and hit Yunus on the neck. Yunus fell unconscious, and Abdin quickly stuffed him inside his magic bag.

He now had the room to himself. His first order was to send a hundred golems after sect leader San and his group through the castle. Twenty more were sent to gather information about every cultivator in the castle.

All this, he did with divided attention, having half his mind on his newly acquired charm. It was called A Thousand Faces. San wasn't lying when he said that no one could activate it except a deva, a late-stage Deva even at that. Being an early-stage Deva or a middle-stage Deva wasn't enough to activate it.

But because of the nature of his cultivation and his understanding of the Dao as a one-time late-stage deva, Abdin was able to wield the charm. He could rather boldly be said to be the only one around the continent that could activate it at the moment.

But the question was, where did such a minor cultivation sect happen to acquire such a valuable cultivation treasure? He shook his head. Where they got it from wasn't his problem. Treasures tended to be tricky most times, falling into unworthy hands. The most important thing at the moment was that it was now his for the taking.

Sending fifty golems to stay guard around the room and keep away any intruders, he bound the room with his spiritual sense. Finally, he threw the charm upwards as he chanted some incantations. His hands clasped together, he rose, mesmerized by the sight before him.

The charm stayed suspended, and after about ten seconds, it burst into an orb. The orb is divided into three faces: a middle-aged black-skinned man, an eastern Fulani-looking infant, and lastly, a fifteen-year-old boy.

Abdin couldn't hold his grin anymore. The charm was truly a thousand faces. Next, he slashed his finger and dropped some blood on each of the faces. The expressions on their faces all turned angry. They looked so lifelike as they glared at Abdin in their fury.

"Why is it that the younger generation is always disrespectful these days?" the old man angrily said.

The infant could only cry, while the teenager kept glaring at Abdin without speaking.

Abdin was so elated that he didn't care about the disgusted looks they were giving him. He chanted some more incantations, and with a glow, the faces faded away.

After replacing the charm in his bag, he brought out another one similar to it, except this one had a gray strip instead of black.

He threw it upwards and chanted. Once again, it transformed into three faces: a beautiful woman, a man aged between thirty and forty, and a young Hausa man.

"He is here to change his face, right?" one of them said.

"Hmm. He's sure to make the wrong choice again," the second replied.

"What else do you expect from people of his lineage?" said a third.

With no respect for him, the faces glared at Abdin as they spoke. Sighing, he squeezed his eyes shut and went into a deep reverie.

A glance at the man in his thirties would reveal that they had the same features as the current Abdin. That was because Abdin was currently using that same face. The true Abdin's face was never like this.

One might wonder why Abdin would hide his face even this far away from home.