"He said that he needs to put a 'marker' in time. Whatever that means," she thought to herself. She felt that Abdin was intentionally speaking in riddles for some reason.

She couldn't blame him though. If she were in his position, she wouldn't trust herself either. It was the only way to prevent herself from revealing information if caught again.

"Take it. It won't harm you. I will explain further after we get rid of our enemies," Abdin said.

Juwaira took the Ayrid but didn't swallow it. She turned it over in her hands for a long time before finally gathering the courage to swallow it. It dissolved in her mouth and instantly circulated through her body.

She wouldn't have agreed to this under normal circumstances, but she still felt ashamed of what she had done to him. It was her way of apologizing after causing trouble with Munniq. She deserved the punishment.

Shortly afterward, her body began to shake, and her eyes felt heavy. She staggered and almost lost her balance. Abdin appeared beside her and held her up.

She lost track of time before reopening her eyes. She was still sitting on a chair in the same room, facing Abdin. What happened?

"Ten minutes," he said, grinning at her.

Ten minutes? She frowned. It wasn't that long, but she wanted to know what he had done to her during that time.

"I am going to kill Munniq," he said. "And I want you to help me with that. Can you remember the last place you saw her?"

The princess looked down at herself, finding no obvious changes. After checking her cultivation and confirming everything was intact, she sighed with relief.

"She is in Biyakis," she said. "I believe she is in the capital."

Munniq knocked her out and took her to another forest where they encountered golems resembling her team. She wasn't entirely certain of the exact location, but she had sensed Denyanu's cultivation just before being taken away. At least at that time, he was in the capital.

As she relayed this information, Abdin became thoughtful. Munniq knew how to conceal her cultivation and that of others. She must have intentionally allowed Juwaira to discover Denyanu's location for a reason known only to her. It was likely a trap she had set up for both of them.

After further discussion, Abdin dismissed the princess but not before assigning her as the head of the castle defense, ranking above both San and Renga. Before parting ways, he also promised to free her men and her mother from wherever they were being held hostage after killing Munniq.

Juwaira didn't feel very optimistic about that, and her face reflected her despair. Nonetheless, she thanked him and left, deeply regretting her actions. She realized that she had made only one mistake that had ruined everything. If she had kept her promise and returned straight to the castle as agreed, none of this would be happening. With a sigh, she left, feeling defeated.

After Juwaira left, Abdin reclined and closed his eyes. The yellow Ayrid he had given the princess wasn't related to time manipulation. It had no special effects, whatsoever.

But the Ayrid became necessary since he believed that Munniq was tracking Juwaira's movements. It wouldn't be surprising if Munniq had a part of her spiritual sense attached to Juwaira, allowing her to locate Abdin. Why else would she release Juwaira so easily? Abdin knew that there were skills specifically used for such purposes.

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He had thoroughly searched the princess's body but couldn't find anything. However, that didn't mean there was nothing to find. Munniq possessed a level of cultivation that allowed her to easily conceal her spiritual sense.

If his assumption was correct and Munniq was truly tracking Juwaira, then she must have overheard their recent discussion. This would leave her uncertain and puzzled about Abdin's true intentions.

Yunus, if he was allied with Munniq, would also be filled with doubt. This hesitation would slow them down and give Abdin the time he needed, as they didn't know his true motives.

Currently, Abdin's cultivation wasn't sufficient for the task at hand, so he needed time. With a sigh, he pushed aside thoughts of Munniq and Yunus. His priority at that moment was to raise his cultivation.

After contemplating for a while, he decided to send Juwaira a message using Ayrid. She would look over the castle for three weeks. By then, Tairen and leader San had returned. Abdin would then initiate another round of recruitment.

With his task completed, Abdin locked the door and prepared for a deep meditation.

Unlike previous times, Abdin didn't simply enter a meditative state. Instead, he approached the wall in front of him and sketched a reversed version of the castle-summoning seal. After infusing cultivation into it, the seal glowed and the wall transformed into space. Abdin stood before it for six seconds before the wall reappeared. To the naked eye, nothing had changed, but in reality, this particular wall was a facade. As a test, Abdin reached out his hand, which passed through the wall without encountering any resistance.

He repeated this process with the remaining walls until they all became facades. Returning to the center of the room, he assumed a meditative pose.

Time was limited, and with Yunus' appearance, Abdin knew he had to utilize every resource he had to succeed. Anything less could cost him his life. After a lengthy chanting of incantations, he finally stood up and walked through the wall in front of him.

Instead of the castle grounds, Abdin found himself in a dark and eerie forest. The outlines of trees were barely visible, and a stream of cold water ran along the ground, reaching up to his ankles.

Abdin had come to hunt for Ayrid, specifically the green and black varieties. This forest contained various types, but he needed those two the most for the time loop.

This realm harbored hidden dangers within its crevices, which was why Abdin disliked coming here unless it was necessary. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from a distance. He quickly disappeared and climbed up a tree.

The darkness made it difficult to see, but the footsteps continued to draw closer. It gradually dawned on him that the footsteps belonged to two individuals-one male and one female. The man's footsteps were heavier than the woman's, and both were armed. Abdin could occasionally hear the sound of their weapons as their feet splashed in the continuous stream of water.

A minute passed before they reached the spot where Abdin had recently been standing. They paused, searching the area, before drawing a suspended seal. Soon after, they raised their heads and locked eyes with Abdin, who was perched in the tree.

Abdin frowned as their gazes met. They stared at each other with open mouths. The darkness did little to hide the surprise they expressed.

Both individuals staring up at him were identical to him. His earlier assumption about them being a man and a woman was wrong. They looked the same in appearance, weight, and everything else.

They maintained a silent stare before one of them asked, "What are you doing here?"

Abdin furrowed his brow. This realm belonged to him, and he should have been the only one in this area. Besides, why weren't they surprised to see him there?

They seemed surprised to find him up on the tree, but not surprised by their resemblance to him. A strange sensation weighed on Abdin's chest. It was a feeling that he couldn't quite explain, but looking at them felt like gazing at only one person. It reminded him of the feeling he experienced when faced with those deva golems.

Could these individuals also be golems? Abdin pondered to himself.

"Ah..." he attempted to speak but didn't know what to say.

"Come down," they commanded him.

Abdin climbed down and positioned himself at a distance of ten paces, facing them.

"What's your name?" they inquired. "And which batch do you belong to?"

They appeared suspicious of him, perhaps suspecting that he wasn't one of their kind.