Chapter 1232
Aziz bin Abdul
Aziz bin Abdul was clad in a crimson robe woven from silk and fine linen, its sleeves extending well past his fingertips. A rhinoceros-hide belt, adorned with golden runes, cinched his waist, and around his neck hung a rosary of ten infant skulls dyed rose-red, two gold necklaces, and a lapis lazuli pendant.
A cotton turban was wrapped around his head, with a circular gold amulet in the shape of a skull pinned to his forehead. A peacock feather, studded with numerous emeralds, was tucked into the back of his headwrap.
A lion-skin pouch and a carved red wooden idol hung from his belt. His ten fingers were adorned with rings of varying colors and sizes, and each of his boots was decorated with a white feather.
— If any Extraordinary of the Path of Wisdom or Path of Balance were to activate their appraisal vision, they would be blinded by the myriad paths of light emanating from him.
He was adorned with at least twenty pieces of Extraordinary equipment!
These items alone were enough to rival the entire fortune of a minor City-state’s Lord.
Of course, this was in no way for ostentation—while their value was immeasurable, to many Distinguished Guests of the Third Ring, they were merely commonplace. He carried these items with him in reality because he feared death.
— He had offended far too many people.
Assassins, Ritualists, Curse Masters… even though the Third Ring was very safe, he still cautiously carried all his survival equipment. This ensured that he could mount a fight or at least escape in any situation.
His robe, dyed with dragon’s blood, could resist Command spells and reflect curses; the emerald crown hidden beneath his hair also had the effects of resisting curses and increasing Life force.
The Human-head rose rosary around his neck could instantly cast ten pre-set Ritual spells; the belt at his waist allowed him to briefly resist a full-power blow from a Fifth Tier Extraordinary, and the gold amulet on his head was used to counter curses, mind control, and detect hostility. The peacock feather was also for resisting curses and could remove one abnormal status once.
The idol at his waist was also for resisting curses and had the effect of auto-counterattack and fully automatic counter to low-tier spellcasting; the ten rings each had their own effects, and one of his boots could render someone invisible while the other could randomly teleport someone to a safe location.
This level of armament might seem somewhat exaggerated.
But to him, it was just right—
Aziz bin Abdul felt refreshed and invigorated today.
Today was a rather important day—after many years, Holy Spring City finally had the opportunity to host the Under-Dome Conference again!
For this occasion, he had specifically washed his face with water and styled his hair with the finest hair oil and beeswax.
In the past, this conference was also known as the Royal Audience. Officials from all City-states would travel here to report their work before the Throne of Anxi. At that time, even the high and mighty Lords were merely one among countless ordinary officials.
Since the King of Anxi disappeared, the Under-Dome Conference had not been convened normally.
As a result, Holy Spring City, originally the Capital, had now become an ordinary City-state.
— But now, the situation was different.
With their respected Grand Vizier reconvening the Under-Dome Conference, the Lords of all City-states had responded to the summons.
From today onwards, they would arrive at Holy Spring City one after another and proceed to their designated residences.
What did this signify?
It signified that the Lords had finally bowed their heads, yielded, and admitted defeat;
It signified that Anxi would once again have a de facto monarch!
Even if he was only the Grand Vizier in name—but honestly, who cared?
Like Avalon, like the Iris Flower… the political systems of those young Human countries outside could also change. Even if Anxi was a nation of Eternity, who stipulated that Anxi alone could not change at all?
To take a step back, they had managed for so long without a monarch, hadn’t they?
Now, the Grand Vizier could become a monarch!
At least Aziz himself thought so.
If the Lords were re-established as Kings, Anxi would awaken once more. Just as the Fallen Heavenly Envoy Descends caused the Church to awaken… those Lords of the City-states would once again become officials of the next tier.
— And he, as the Left Master of Ceremonies to the Lord, would have been considered a “Capital Minister” qualified to attend the Under-Dome Conference in the past.
Did this not indicate that he had become colleagues, equals, with those high and mighty Lords?
The Aziz of the past was also from a scholarly family; his mother was an Archaeologist, and his paternal line were soldiers, the personal guards of a Lord of a small city.
And when he was young, because he played with the sixth daughter of a Lord, he was personally castrated by his father.
— He would never forget how his father, who was so high and mighty in their home, was casually ordered by the Lord like a dog to castrate his only son.
Later, that Lord was killed by an enraged rebel army, and his father, like the Lord’s dog, was killed along with him. Because he had committed many evils, even his mother was implicated and executed, along with him being wanted as well.
He abandoned his mother and mixed into the ranks of exiled commoners—using the Dagger left by his father, he killed a boy his own age and assumed his name and identity.
That year, Aziz was only seven years old.
“Aziz” was also only seven years old.
There was only one place they could go, and that was Holy Spring City—the rebel forces were powerful at the time. They colluded with Goblin Merchants, plundering commoners to sell to the Goblins in exchange for Extraordinary Equipment, weapons, and various supplies.
At that time, only Holy Spring City was safe enough.
He was lucky enough to encounter a kind family. With his acting skills and storytelling, he managed to gain sympathy through his castration wound—because he was a eunuch and had no ability to seize the property of Free People, as long as he behaved well and obediently, many Free People families wouldn’t mind having one more mouth to feed.
He was called an adopted son, but he was merely the guard, the suicide squad for his elder brothers and sisters. If the Lord demanded blood tribute, he could be counted among the sacrifices—Aziz knew all of this, but this was his last chance.
Despite being a lowly adopted eunuch, he might still have a chance for revenge!
And later, he indeed found an opportunity and seized the other party’s property.
Later, because he was suspected by others, he was exiled to distant Avalon by his Mentor under the guise of “travelling”. He struggled with all his might to climb back.
From an orphan whose entire family died, he climbed step by step to his current position.
Aziz’s life was a testament to the word “Transcendence.”
His current position as Left Master of Ceremonies was well-deserved!
And not just that—
Not just this position.
He was not satisfied with this status.
He had not forgotten the Lord’s laughter that year, his father’s scarlet eyes, or his own screams.
He had not forgotten the sweetness of power.
He might be able to climb even higher.
He might still have a chance…
At this moment, he heard the distant shouts of the plebeians below.
He curled his lips.
— Such a fuss.
Nothing new under the sun, those ignorant plebeians had probably seen something novel again. It was truly a disgrace to the people of Holy Spring.
After all, this was an important day for the Lords to visit. Perhaps it was some stunningly beautiful female slave, or maybe a Mammoth or Dragon pulling a carriage.
“Aziz” tidied his hair, preparing to greet the first batch of arriving Lords with a smile.
