Just as Laluri had said, Silver Mask's cultivation was now apparent and had already reached the zenith of core formation. But Abdin couldn't feel any signs of Deva from him.
The four men floating majestically in the air were all core formation experts. Although none of them was beyond the fourth step of it, they were still in trouble. The young man on the veil was at the peak of foundation establishment. Though the air around him could deceive many into thinking he had already reached the core formation stage, Abdin had met a lot of core formation experts in his life, and wouldn't make that mistake.
"Juwaira," Abdin called, as he turned to stare at her. "I believe your men should be releasing their full cultivation base by now. And you should be too."
Juwaira frowned a little. This was why she didn't hesitate using Abdin to kill Laluri, as he was also using them to fight against Will of San and was even planning to use them to fight against an empire. All without their consent. She would say they were even, deception-wise. So she didn't see any reason why he would be frowning and scolding her.
Pushing the thought aside, she waved her hand and made a signal with her index and middle finger.
The only woman in the party and three other men stepped forward while Denyanu withdrew.
"I don't think you need any introductions," Juwaira said. Despite the veil on her face, Abdin would have sworn she was pouting.
It was true, Abdin knew them all. Juwaira and those four had all formed their core. Juwaira was on the second step of core formation - two thousand and eighteen years of pol and...
Abdin stopped and frowned. 2,018 years was Juwaira's cultivation base the last time he saw her three months back. And he was sure she came to the castle on that level. Her journey was through the resource-dry wilderness. She wouldn't have added more than five years to her cultivation base even if she was lucky. But he was currently detecting 2,116 years from her.
"When did you..." He left the question hanging. Ninety-eight years were just way too many.
The princess understood him, and she moved closer to his ears and whispered, "I have agreed to stay in this castle for ten years."
A sweet fragrance sneaked its way up his nose. Abdin didn't know if it was perfume or if the princess always smelled that way, as this was the first time she ever stood so close to him.
That thought aside. This lady had, in less than a month, accrued almost a hundred years. Even he, the castle founder and owner and summoner, hadn't reached that level yet. No wonder she wanted to stay.
He opened his mouth to tell her she had to pay but thought better of it. It wasn't only her, but the others too had gained at least ten to twenty years. Was he getting old and rusty? At this rate, he might never catch up to them.
He forced a smile. "Congratulations. And since your cultivation has increased so much, I would assign you to face that old man with the highest pol among them." He pointed to an old man floating beside the young man on the veil.
Juwaira shook her head. He was now sure she was pouting behind her veil.
"He is stronger than me, Commander. It would be better if you face him as you have the strongest cultivation among us."
Abdin gritted his teeth. When had they become so familiar?
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But he neither had the time nor the intention to go on with the banter. It was also a joke, he meant to match her with the young man at the peak of the foundation establishment. That way, no harm would befall her.
"Laran, Janta, Abuk, Danin," he called the four core formation experts. "You understand your techniques better than I do. Divide the opponents as it suits you. Juwaira would take that young man sitting on the veil..."
"Princess Juwaira, Commander," Janta, a grey-haired man, bowed and corrected him.
Abdin was quiet. How dare he interrupted him for calling her Juwaira? But still, it sounded better when the woman working under him was a Princess and not some commoner. "Princess Juwaira. She would hold off that young man on the veil. And I will take care of Silver Mask and the rest of the army."
The small army from Will of San consisting of about six hundred men had arrived in just two days. That was way too fast. They were helped, Abdin was sure of it.
A cultivator that had formed a core could summon a gale that could whisk people to a far destination. They could even use treasures like the veil the young man was sitting on to mass transport themselves.
But these techniques and treasures were costly. As such, cultivators never used them unless necessary. If Will of San decided to use such costly techniques just to arrive at his doorstep in the shortest time possible and to bring four of their five core formation experts, then it could only mean one of two things: one, they were too terrified by his ability - which was unlikely since the five messengers sent earlier should still be on their way to the sect - two, they had done their investigation secretly and had realized how much importance the castle had. Abdin was inclined to believe the second scenario. Will of San wasn't some minor sect. They should have transportation scrolls that could send someone to distant places instantly. That would also explain how Barindana and his team arrived too quickly.
If they had truly sent someone to investigate secretly, then they knew what they were dealing with and wouldn't bring just any disciple. These six hundred disciples must be among their best students. As for the four core formation experts, Abdin knew them.
Will of San had five mountain peaks, and those four men were the guardians of four of the mountains. As for the young man, his name was Young Master Tairen, the son of their sect leader.
Back when Abdin was investigating the region, he had infiltrated the sect. He saw the young master from a distance. He could swear their eyes had met fleetingly at the time. But the young master wouldn't be able to remember him as an ordinary disciple.
Now the only person absent was the sect leader himself...
Something crossed his mind at that moment. Was Silver Mask the sect leader? As far as Abdin knew, the sect leader was in seclusion in his bid to break through from core formation to pseudo-Deva.
The rumors making rounds at the sect were he was running out of lifespan. He needed to break through or die.
He wouldn't leave his meditation that easily unless he had secretly transitioned into pseudo-Deva without anyone knowing.
Abdin shook his head. That would hardly be the case. The number of Devas would have been much more than it was if transitioning was that easy. It would be almost impossible for the sect leader to transition without notice.
Whatever situation the sect leader was in, Will of San didn't want a prolonged war and they had brought four of their leaders.
"Are we going out to meet them?" Asked Juwaira. She was no longer teasing and her voice sounded clear for once.
Abdin shook his head. "They will meet us here. I want to make those six hundred disciples feel utterly useless."
The disciples would be useless without the ability to fly themselves inside the castle, and the gates wouldn't break that easily. Juwaira and her party had already tried that. The princess nodded her approval.
But it seemed the other party had similar thoughts. They remained silent and just waited for the castle inhabitants to make the first move, but that wasn't happening any time soon.
In the end, one of the four core formation experts from the sec flew near the wall. About ten steps away from the wall, he stopped flying and flew higher until he was at eye level with Abdin.
"I am Muwadd San. I'm the person representing the sect leader here." The man spoke so calmly you wouldn't think he came for blood.
"I am Commander," replied Abdin, smiling at the man in a welcoming gesture. "I am the King here."
The old man returned his smile before saying, "Can we come to an understanding without shedding any blood today?"
Abdin glanced at the army beyond the man and shrugged. "I'm not the one who stationed an army at your doorstep."
"That is right," the old man said. "But this castle happens to land here, inside our territory. By the law of this region, any treasure that emerges on land, the owner of the land has the right to at least sixty percent of it."