And when he did not receive an answer, he came down from his horse to explore the gate, but he was surprised by the appearance of a person. They did not know where he come from but he was there; a masked man with an enormous stature. He had a strong, broad shouldered stance and his appearance and robe did nothing to indicate that he was from the people of the desert. His suit was closer to the Greek garments they called tunics, which was evident from his strange gray shiny iron armor with no sleeves, and his iron helmet bore a red cloth mask that conceals his face, only revealing his eyes.

It was decorated with some red feather plumage, designed to spread terror in the hearts of the enemies. His size not only exceeded the size of Shaddad three times, but also exceeded the largest man in the tribe of Bani Al-Badr!

His appearance terrified Shaddad, so he pulled out his sword and pointed it towards the masked, shouting.

“In the name of Allah the Merciful! Where did you come from? You the huge mask? Who are you?”

The masked man answered coldly, “I am the guardian of this fortified oasis.”

“Are there any people inside?”

“No.”

“Are you alone here?”

“Yes.”

Shaddad turned to his men and threw them a mean look, and then he laughed – and his men laughed with him. And after they finished laughing, he went forward with a swagger.

“Okay, okay, guard. Get out of my way to walk into this oasis.”

The masked man didn't budge. He looked at Shaddad coldly, saying. “You can't enter it.”

“What do you say? Get lost of my face before I command my men to kill you.”

The masked man kept his place and said, “go back to where you and your men came from so that you don't get hurt. This place is not yours.”

Shaddad's face grew furious.

“Do you challenge me? You will see! Soldiers, kill this idiot and bring me his head now.”

Shaddad’s men jumped toward the guard, not realizing the extent of his strength until he destroyed their weapons with his bare hands and dropped them from their horses! This scene frightened Shaddad and slowly he retreated and then ordered his men. “Attack him again!”

The soldiers returned to the masked man, but he started carrying them and throwing them with ease. Shaddad realized that victory was impossible, and he listened to the opinion of the Taris.

“Sir command them to withdraw, sir. And we will return again to kill him!”

Shaddad reluctantly shouted, “withdraw, men!”

All the soldiers withdrew. As for Shaddad, his eyes did not depart from the masked man eyes until he was away from the fort.

He shouted angrily, “damn, I can't believe we were defeated twice in one day!”

Taris calmed him down. “Take it easy sir. We just withdrew. Don't you see that this miracle oasis deserves a bit of wisdom from us! Nothing hinders us from it except this masked. Let’s tell your father about this issue and he will tell us the right thing to do.”

Shaddad said in tribulation, “you are right… This matter needs a little bit of wisdom and cunning, and then I will defeat that masked man. And Mohab as well.”