The capture of Zelath meant the end of Nerima's power, and while it would take Azir a lot of effort to clear out the sand pirates, it was a trivial matter - considering that Azir would soon have full Ascendant power, it seemed to many that Shurima's re-emergence would only be a matter of time.

There is a Shurima led by the Ascendant Emperor...... Soon it will be able to become the most powerful force in the south of Valoran.

However, no one knew that Rhodes had already prepared for the next step at the beginning of the battle between the two sides - he had been watching the battlefield for a long time, and for him, Azir's victory was very important, and only if he won and became a true Ascendant, Rod's plan could continue.

……………………

Yes, it seems like a nice thing to be a true Ascendant, but Azir has probably forgotten that each of Shurima's Ascendants has a different mission.

For example, Setaka is the commander of the Ascendants, and all Ascenders must follow her designated battle plan.

For example, Nasus is the recorder of the Ascended, and everything about Shurima cannot be hidden from him.

For example, Horlock is the assassin of the ascendants, and he is responsible for the confrontation of the most important enemies.

And so on and so forth......

This part of the text was seen by Rhodes in the library of Ishtar, and in Shurima, Nasus was probably the only one who knew about it.

Because of the disappearance of the Council of the Sun, Azir is actually an ascendant with "no identity and no mission" - after retrieving half of Zelas's ascension power, he needs to find an identity and mission for himself.

Rhodes didn't know Azir's choice, but as expected, his Ascendant responsibility was always related to the revival of Shurima, as a proud guy, Rhodes knew very well the psychology of people like Azir - Shurima became what he is now, and he had to bear a lot of responsibility, so after becoming an Ascendant, he had to take responsibility.

The Ascended are man-made demigods, with the power of demigods and the same responsibilities as gods.

Just as Anivia sheltered Freljord, the Ascended must defend Shurima in accordance with their mission, and in the Ishtar texts, the Darkspawn is described as "a group of Ascended Beings who have lost their responsibilities and whose power has twisted them into what they are when they spiraled out of control, along with the power of the Void."

In the texts, this passage is an unconfirmed inference, but according to Rod's knowledge and observations, this conclusion is correct.

And this is also the most important fulcrum for Rhodes to set a trap for Azir.

Rhodes is waiting for Azir to become the full body of the Ascendant, as long as Azir enters the "system", then he will have no way to resist the law - as strong as Orn and Anivia can only paddle under the suppression of the runic law, once Zelas really becomes the Ascendant and chooses to revive Shurima as his mission......

As long as Rhodes can prove that he can make Shurima revive faster and better, then Azir will directly lose resistance to Rhodes.

When the time comes, the desert emperor will either accept Rhodes' leadership and constraints, or give up his ascension power - this is the core of Rhodes' trap.

In fact, as early as when he decided to do something to Shurima, Rhodes already had a vague idea, but the whole plan at that time was not perfect enough - although he knew the impact of the gods' responsibilities before, but he did not confirm the state of the ascendant, he made two preparations, either using the law to suppress or taking the fire.

And Ishtar's information gave him the most crucial reassurance and allowed him to make the final crucial decision.

Rules are rules.

After confirming Azir's victory, Rhodes focused his entire experience on the areas under the de facto control of the Twin Cities Alliance, and he sought all possible ways to give these areas "visible progress".

This includes, but is not limited to, restarting the ancient waterway and watering Antahir with Birgewater's resources; Construct the North Shurima Commercial Free Trade Zone, reduce cross-strait taxes, and promote commercial trade; Construct the Ishtar Kohalise Supply Line to provide a steady supply for the Void Defense Front left behind by the Weaver Mother......

Rhodes used all the means he had to get his hands on, and even overdrew his credibility to a certain extent, and strongly led the hot money of Leather City, Zaun, and Bilgewater into the construction field of Shurima.

Thanks to Rod's efforts, the Twin Cities Alliance, or the area under Rod's de facto control, began to grow and prosper rapidly - and by the time Azir returned to Shurima City and confidently prepared for his new ascension ceremony, Rod's hand had already grasped the desert emperor's yet-to-be-formed demigod personality.

Because of the demise of the Solar Council, the Ascension Ritual took a long time - after some calculations, this important ritual was scheduled for three months later.

And when the month of March expired, when Azir raised the solar disc again on the newly built altar of the sun, when Zelas's body disappeared into a brilliant light, when Azir announced the return of Emperor Shurima with a loud voice, when the Emperor of the Desert became a new generation of ascendants...... A sudden burst of angina almost knocked Azir unconscious.