Chapter 1581: Chapter 272: The Sea of People Froze
Whether it was the “Beauty” Mahid Fran or the “Hero” Ismael…
Aiwass did not wish to stand on either side.
He saw clearly… Although Mahid Fran seemed to be protecting Aiwass, the two of them, in reality, did not respect anyone else at all—whether it was the servants ordered to touch the Petrification Barrier, or Aiwass himself as an outsider among the Benevolent Lords… or even each other.
Just because Ismael did not obey her words, Mahid Fran was angered and lost her composure, arguing with another Benevolent Lord on the street. Because she had become completely accustomed to an environment where her word was law, and upon realizing the situation was otherwise, she immediately lost her graceful demeanor.
And Ismael never valued Mahid Fran.
He continually sent servants to touch the barrier, which was obviously dangerous at a glance, perhaps because Mahid Fran was preventing him?
—If Mahid Fran told him to stop and he obediently did so, wouldn’t that signify Mahid Fran’s status was higher, more revered than his?
And if he needed Mahid Fran’s persuasion to see the problem, wouldn’t that be equivalent to admitting his own failure?
He must continually refute Mahid Fran, exhausting every means to prove her wrong.
If he couldn’t achieve that, he’d rather sacrifice all his servants here.
In this sinful land, the Benevolent Lords exerted all efforts to maintain their god-like illustriousness. Once they lost their authoritative influence, death and revenge would swiftly follow. To uphold this “absolute correctness,” they had already lost themselves on this path for far too long.
Clearly…
In the ancient past, their ancestors were the ones with the most orthodox heritage, the longest foresight, and the greatest spirit of sacrifice on this land. Now, relying on the inherited title of Benevolent Lords, they had become reckless, capricious giants.
Clearly having the noblest ideals originally, now turned into the filthiest forms.
“—Such an ugly quarrel.”
Aiwass sighed, feeling sorrow for the mages of yore: “Enough is enough.”
Hearing Aiwass’s voice, Ismael instantly gave a sneering laugh, loudly mocking: “Look, Mahid Fran! Look at this state of his! No reverence, no gratitude. Beautiful Mahid Fran, this is the kind of person you wish to protect!”
And Mahid Fran’s face instantly darkened.
The beautiful red-haired dancer, smiling sweetly, looked at Aiwass, yet her tone was not kind: “Oh, Benevolent Lord from Avalon… you came all the way to Parthia just to judge us sinners?”
With these words, she simultaneously attacked Aiwass for being “born in Avalon, hence an outsider to the Parthians,” “the miracle previously performed in accordance with ‘Parthia’ was merely his show,” and “his roots were in the Holy Nation and incompatible with the Parthians.”
As for the followers petrified at the door… she didn’t even glance at them, as if they were mere decorations.
To the Benevolent Lords who highly value dignity and face, this might be very dirty language. Though these lords completely disregarded the human rights of slaves and free people, they never directly insulted or cursed others. Probably because if they were truly angry, they would have directly acted on their thoughts without resorting to verbal attacks.
But to Aiwass, this level of sarcasm barely registered as an attack. In his previous life, such comments might have only provoked an online response of “You’re so cute.” The offensiveness might not even measure up to a couple of straightforward curses—at least the latter could make Aiwass angry.
And Aiwass indeed laughed out loud.
With a gentle, sunny smile, he nodded earnestly and said, “Indeed.”
“You… hmm?”
Mahid Fran originally wanted to say something, but suddenly paused.
Her eyes widened abruptly, and she looked up at Aiwass in astonishment.
While Aiwass raised his left hand, a card spun in his fingertips. The dim yellow radiance gradually spread around, instantly dyeing the entire world into a dusky yellow, making everything lose its color and turn into dazzling gold.
It was clearly a scorching sunny morning, yet it felt like dusk.
Everything fell silent.
And Aiwass calmly said: “I am indeed here to judge you.”
As Aiwass’ words fell.
The card hovering on his fingertips shattered inch by inch.
Even the surrounding space instantly filled with dense web-like cracks. Like bullet-riddled bulletproof glass or a window pane shattered by the summer sun.
This was proof that the space couldn’t withstand the immense pressure on the entire world when Inanna arrived—
This also indirectly proved that the Hourglass did not give Amber any special treatment.
The old man was still striving to maintain the Wall of Balance, yet the strength of the Hourglass was ultimately no match for Amber. It was like in the past when the Supreme Heaven would often punch the starry sky into ruins, forcefully intervening in the Material Realm—everyone was humbly letting it happen, just that the Supreme Heaven wasn’t taking the humble approach.
And now, Amber, as the “Perfect God,” finally took action, instantly shattering the Wall of Balance along with the Material Realm!
Fortunately, Aiwass had previously employed Preservation Arts to preserve the surrounding buildings and people, preventing them from instantly becoming misaligned amidst such tearing.
Feeling the divine power fluctuating before Aiwass, Mahid Fran and Ismael widened their eyes in disbelief.
Daring to accept the invitation from the Benevolent Lords of Clear Spring City and to rebel against the Abyssal Celestial Envoy… naturally, they were capable individuals.
Although augmented by the Transcendence Tide… they had all reached the Sixth Power Level, making it conceivable to defeat the Abyssal Celestial Envoy. Those slaughtered by the Descent Heavenly Department suffered because at that time they were at most at the Fifth Power Level, or even Fourth Power Level, with no chance of triumph against the Sixth Power Level of the Descent Heavenly Department.
But now, they too had reached the Sixth Power Level, standing on the same level as the Celestial Marshal. And with the added benefits of their equipment, why couldn’t they defeat the Descent Heavenly Department?
Currently, only the Celestial Marshal of the Path of Love and Transcendence has died, and looking across the world… the place with the most Sixth Power Level Ritualists is in Parthia, right here. Whether it’s Primordial or Holy Nation, their mainstream Path was ultimately not the Transcendence or Love Path.
—If they couldn’t defeat them, then others should likely be unable to as well!
This was not arrogance, but reasonable conjecture.
As higher-ups on the same Path, Mahid Fran and Ismael could easily sense Aiwass had a Fifth Power Level Transcendence Path. Precisely because they confirmed Aiwass was not of their ilk, Mahid Fran spoke rudely.
Aiwass understood this point.
In guild battles, even there are always several individuals of higher status among the team. Maybe they have better equipment, or superior skills, or they gather more people. Essentially, passing the stage relies on their contribution.
Compared to these “main forces” that have reached the Sixth Power Level, those without the Transcendence Path occupation, or those with the Path’s level but unupgraded to Sixth Power Level Benevolent Lords were the “loafers” of the team.
If they left this fixed team, they might not get past the hurdle. Like loafers with self-awareness would not actively challenge the team’s big brothers. They showed little respect for Aiwass yet twistedly craved his attention and respect, precisely because of this reason.
After all, they hadn’t genuinely upgraded to the Sixth Power Level.
The Fallen Celestial Marshal wasn’t summoned by them, nor was it defeated by them.
They just rode the wave of events, relying on the Transcendence Tide to achieve energy levels they dared not dream of before. Others cannot reach them, not for lack of effort or diligence, but simply because fate determined so.
In this regard, those Benevolent Lords were even more self-doubting than ordinary people—because though they managed to hit the Sixth Power Level, it proved their abilities fell far short of the Holy Nation’s Pope. Thus, they sought to find stronger individuals, to attack them, and use them as proof of their dignity.
And now…
Clearly only at the Fifth Power Level, Aiwass unleashed a radiant brilliance beyond their capacity to stand, forcing them to retreat again and again—
It was indeed the power of the Path of Dusk, yet it was vastly superior to theirs… even surpassing the limits of the Material Realm!
Mahid Fran and Ismael found themselves in chaos—Their first thought: “Have I been unconscious for several days, and actually the Abyssal Celestial Envoy was defeated half a month ago?”
Oh, they even managed to finish the ascension rituals!
And right before Aiwass, a silhouette of a dusky moth flickered by.
As Ismael stared dumbfounded… he suddenly realized the entire world had quieted down.
He turned around belatedly, only to discover everyone around him had transformed into black-and-white stone statues!
—In an instant, the sea of people froze.