Chapter 146: The World of Vanity

"Brothers, if the earthly city of Rome is so beautiful, how dazzling will the holy city of Jerusalem be! If the dignitaries of the earthly world can be so admired by those who love vanity, how great will be the praise, glory and peace for the saints who concentrate on meditating on the truth!"

The biography of the African missionary Fulgentius, who was probably the last man in many centuries who could so firmly despise the splendor and magnificence of Rome. Because after that, there would be no more splendor in Rome that was worth despising.

The Roman emperors who had climbed to the pinnacle of power by force of arms abandoned the eternal city for various reasons. Rome was no longer suitable for the successive emperors to live in, so they left.

However, although Rome has lost its ability to serve as a political center, it is still a city worth visiting for tourism and pilgrimage because of its culture and religion.

The Colosseum was the only place where Rome's barbaric beliefs could be most directly reflected, because the moderate Christian church did not allow such cruel and bloody activities to be held so rampantly. Although the conservative people never stopped protesting, the emperor's order was the highest law. So the beast fighting performance gradually became less common.

But the beast fighting did not stop because they knew that this bloody show was no longer just a real show that made the Roman civilians crazy. Where they could sit to watch the beast fighting was related to the status that the nobles in the Senate believed they should have. No matter whether they were at the peak of their careers or declining, they all longed to have a seat for their family in the huge Colosseum.

In the huge Colosseum, the annual beast fighting performance was held as scheduled. People who were used to monthly or even daily beast fighting performances now cherished the love that was gone forever. It had not been long since they entered the venue, and there were already crowds of people. However, most of them were on the top floor of the Colosseum, where there were no seats. It was reserved for women and civilians, and the view was not good. But it didn't matter, because it didn't stop them from loving beast fighting.

Flavius ​​Aresio did not have such an urgent need. He lazily lay on a soft blanket made of animal fur, wearing a purple silk robe imported from the far east. Don't underestimate this dress, it is a symbol of a noble's wealth, and it is also a manifestation of the prosperity of this noble and his family.

Of course he had his own place. Unlike other fallen nobles, he had enough space to lie down and a cloth cover to protect him from the sun. Those fallen nobles only had the cold stone under their buttocks. Aresio would not talk to or get to know those nobles who were about to lose their noble names. He had everything that those people envied, his divine face, wealth, and women! "Respected Sir Aresio!" Aresio heard this trembling call, and the voice was very careful. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a noble in a robe and a laurel wreath on his head. The laurel wreath woven with laurel branches was not worth mentioning compared to the pure gold laurel wreath on Aresio's head.

The noble stood there at a loss. He hadn't made any mistakes, but from his nervous expression, there was a hint of suspicion. Even though Aresio was lazy, his sharp eyes were his magic weapon of great pride, because his eyes could easily tell a person's social status from his clothes.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!”

Finally, he mustered up the courage to look up at the divine face, but he never expected to meet his gaze. The noble quickly lowered his head, his face pale, his lips trembling as he opened and closed, and the sound he made was like that of a stuttering patient: "Respected, respected Lord Aresio, I, I..."

"Sir." Aresio smiled, but interrupted his hesitant speech without any hesitation. It was not because he was so arrogant and rude, but because he made a rough analysis of the status and identity of the nobleman in front of him, no, under his feet through his sharp eyes: he was just a poor guy with an empty noble title, not worth my attention. It was just because of the etiquette of the nobles that he had to pretend to smile, and looked at the middle-aged nobleman with a pleasant face and said: "Excuse me, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Ah, ah, yes, yes, there is a very important thing I want to ask you..." The nobleman was still stuttering. Aresio, who had little patience to begin with, was extremely disgusted with this guy.

"Then let's talk about it after I finish watching the performance. Right now, nothing can be more important to me than this hard-earned game, don't you think, distinguished guest?" Aresio tried his best to soften his tone. Although he had a smile on his face, he stretched out his hand weakly and waved it towards the noble, motioning him to leave.

The noble didn't understand the meaning, well, it didn't matter, because now the guards behind him who were responsible for guarding Aresio understood. They stepped forward and rudely lifted up the noble's left and right arms. Without knowing what the noble was going to say, the strong soldier had already dragged him away.

"For God's sake, it's finally quiet!" Alessio couldn't help but sigh. At this moment, the densely packed crowd in the audience seats cheered deafeningly. Finally, the annual beast fighting performance began!

"Okay! Citizens of Rome, and respected nobles of the Senate! It is a great honor to be able to watch the exciting performance with you here at this auspicious moment, in this huge Colosseum that has stood for hundreds of years!"

On the rostrum, there was a host with a big belly but an extremely loud voice. He was wearing a white robe and a laurel wreath on his head. He was standing on a stone platform. That was his stage. At this moment, thousands of spectators in the Colosseum stopped cheering, and thousands of eyes gathered on him from all directions.

He puffed out his fat belly and held his head high, just like a proud rooster. Such a loud voice echoed throughout the Colosseum.

But his demeanor still had to give consideration to the nobles. Having said this, he had to lean forward slightly and cast his gaze towards a huge platform in the middle of the audience seats not far away, where many people in gorgeous clothes gathered. They were like green leaves surrounding the two nobles sitting in the middle.

One is an elderly woman, and the other is an underage boy. Yes, the boy is the current Roman Emperor Valentinian III, and the woman is the most powerful person in the Western Roman Empire, the Queen Regent: Placidia!

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(End of this chapter)