Chapter 1280: The King’s Decree The Mayor of the Town of Wyr, Armand Solenwyr, couldn’t tell whether he was dreaming, or not. After escorting his guest to the capital city of Velgrande, Erasmus took him to the Royal Palace. Then and there, the Mayor finally realized that the person that he had personally escorted back to the capital city was none other than the King of Artem, King Astrion himself! This shock almost made him faint, but Erasmus grabbed hold of him and pulled him inside of the castle without a second thought. When he first met Armand, he liked the way the mayor treated him and Zion, finding the Mayor’s attention to detail and hospitality top-notch. Even in their journey, Armand’s character didn’t change, and he continued to serve Erasmus without a second thought. Because of this, Erasmus deemed that having someone dependable like Armand by his side was worth it, so he rewarded the other with the position of Minister. Half of the Ministers of the King, including his right-hand man, Lysander, had perished in Pangea. Because of this, he appointed Armand as his new right-hand man, shocking the remaining Ministers in the capital city. No one thought twice before doing a background check on Armand, wanting to get a better grip of his character. While it did take them several days to gather the information they needed, they finally understood that he was a Mayor of a small town located at the eastern-most edge of the continent. In the eyes of the other Ministers, Armand just got lucky because he happened to be in the place where their King had appeared after his return to Artem. Armand also felt the same way, but Erasmus assured him that he became a Minister because of his ability. Now that he had a high position in the Empire, he became more devoted to his King and performed his duties well. "Armand, come," Erasmus ordered. "Yes, Your Majesty!" Armand bowed respectfully in front of the throne. "I need you to pick some people in the city to bring here to the palace," Erasmus stated. "You already know who they are. They are my companions who parted ways with me before we left for Velgrande." The images of Zion and Azrael appeared inside Armand’s head, allowing him to understand what his King wished of him. "They are staying at the Dancing Girls Inn," Erasmus added. "Make sure to bring them here as soon as possible." "Yes, Your Majesty!" Armand replied respectfully before bowing low. He then left the throne room under the scrutiny of the other Ministers. They had tried to look for dirt they could throw at Armand when they had him investigated, but his records showed that he was a well-loved Mayor by his people. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶 Left with no choice and not wanting to anger their King, they had decided to change their methods. They now planned to befriend Armand and butter him up so their King would also look kindly upon them. Erasmus was well aware of court politics, so he allowed them to do what they wanted. As long as they did their jobs properly as Ministers, he wouldn’t mind a bit of throne room drama from time to time. Nearly an hour later, Armand returned with two people, both wearing hooded cloaks. Zion and Cranky knelt in front of Erasmus and removed the hoods that covered their faces, allowing everyone to see what they looked like. "You have traveled far and wide, my loyal subjects," Erasmus said with a smile on his face. "Now that you have reunited with me, I will grant both of you a reward. What do you wish for?" "I wish to continue to serve His Majesty to the best of my abilities," Thirteen replied. "However, it is hard to do it due to certain restrictions. I only wish I would be given the authority to do what is needed to serve the Kingdom." "I feel the same way, Your Majesty," Cranky stated. Erasmus nodded with satisfaction. "Both of you are truly loyal subjects of mine. So, here is my decree! From this day onwards, I will grant you, Zion, the position of Minister of the Left. "Azrael, you are to serve as Grand Protector, second to Zion’s office and charged with carrying out his commands. Zion’s word will be my word. His actions are my actions. Any who defy him defy me and shall answer for it." The declaration shocked not only the Ministers, but also the nobles that were currently in the throne room. They had never seen the teenage boy named Zion in their lives, as well as the person who went by the name Azrael. In the past, Lysander held a similar power and authority, which made everyone fear the Minister, who also served as the Commander of the Artemian Army. All the nobles exchanged knowing glances with each other before shifting their attention back at the teenage boy, who was still kneeling in front of the King. They could now forget about Armand. It was very obvious that Zion was being given greater authority, equivalent to the power of the crown. Truth be told, Erasmus wanted to declare Zion as the Crown Prince of Artem. But, he knew he would receive staunch opposition if he did that. In order to prevent any trouble from happening, he did the next best thing and that was to give him the authority that matched the King of Artem. After bestowing the ranks to the newcomers, Erasmus ended the court session. As soon as the Ministers returned to their quarters, news of Zion and Azrael spread like wildfire, reaching the ears of the people who held power within the Empire. Naturally, Rana also heard of this, shocking her silly. ’Wait, isn’t Zion supposed to be the person who defeated the King?’ Rana thought after seeing the report of his spy in the palace. ’Why did Astrion bestow his enemy with the authority equal to him? Was he threatened or forced to sign a magical contract like I did?’ Many questions swirled inside Rana’s mind, and all of them revolved around the young man who had just left her side a few days ago. "Just what are you up to, Zion?" Rana frowned. "You’re stirring up hornet nests that must be left alone." She knew for certain that the two other Celestials, as well as some of the High-Archons in Artem, would not be too thrilled of someone having an authority equal to their King. There were already some rumors that the Celestials were pulling some strings in the background to stage a rebellion, making everyone with high positions in the Empire uneasy. Now that Zion had appeared in the picture, it was certain that he would become a target of these people, who wouldn’t refrain from using assassins to end his teenage life. However, after Rana remembered that someone more powerful than her was standing by Zion’s side, the frown on her face disappeared. She was torn about who to pity. Zion, who had just been given the power equal to the crown, or those who would find themselves staring at the jaws of death for targeting a person that they should have left alone.