Chapter 1652 Hidden Side of the Politics & Anfang's Metamorphosis
Sage Zavir was left aghast by what he saw.
He saw that Eren had managed to neutralize Hansen within just a couple of seconds. Even he wouldn't have been able to do something like that.
He could tell that what Eren had used against Hansen couldn't have been an Ability. However, he was unsure of what it actually was.
He neither experienced something like that taking place in his long life as a Sage nor had read about it in the old records of Anfang available to him.
Only now did Zavir realize that there was a bigger world outside the known limits of Anfang. He felt as if Eren had exceeded him and all the other Sages not in terms of Ranking Status but something much more profound.
He wanted to prevent Hansen from making any foolish mistakes. However, he felt that this experiment was worth it to test Eren's powers.
Earlier, Sage Zavir was a bit doubtful about striking deals with Eren. But after seeing how easy it was for someone like Eren to dispose of S-ranked entities, he stopped doubting his decision.
Hansen's array formation shattered when Eren wielded his divinity. It allowed Zavir to approach Eren and Hansen. He interrupted Eren just before he could yank Hansen's vocal cords out of his body.
"Eren. Please… please let Hansen go."
Sage Zavir said while looking at Eren's bloody fingers still lodged deep inside Hansen's throat. He could see that Hansen was still conscious but he had lost his ability to speak or do anything else. A Sage like him had turned into as docile as a chicken after Eren had grabbed him by his neck.
Eren turned around and looked at Sage Zavir. He pondered a bit before nodding at the Sage.
"Hmm. I'll agree to your request because you asked nicely. Um… I'm sorry you had to see this. This is… force of habit."
The butcher said before letting go of Hansen's larynx. He could tell that Zavir was mentally disturbed by what he had done and what he was about to do to Hansen.
He pulled his fingers lodged deep inside his neck and wiped them off over Hansen's clothes before throwing him towards Sage Zavir like it was some ragdoll.
"Contrary to what's being said about me in Arsalan and Katiyal, I'm a reasonable man, Sage Zavir. Here you go. Take care of this old dog for me. Make sure to leash him for his own good."
Eren said while turning around to see Hansen being supported by Zavir. He looked at Hansen before speaking further, knowing full well the latter could listen to him.
"Don't try to bully me just because I'm your junior. The Eren you saw graduating in front of you belongs in the past. I'll let you go this time. But there won't be another."
He warned Hansen before flashing a cordial smile at Zavir. "So where were we?" he asked the leader Sage as if he had nothing to do with the earlier escalation.
Sage Zavir sighed before gesturing to a female Sage to look after Hansen. After releasing Hansen in her care, he looked at Eren and said in a downcast voice. "Follow me," he said before walking towards the makeshift camp.
Eren's Titan transformation and the resultant tremors had destroyed some of the earlier structures inside the camp. However, a few buildings were still intact. Zavir took Eren into one such structure so that the two could talk in private without any external disturbance.
The business talks between Eren and Zavir proceeded smoothly. Zavir decided it was against his interests as well as the interests of all of Anfang to pressure Eren into striking deals he didn't want. Instead, he took a friendly approach, allowing Eren to state his demands first before negotiating.
Contrary to what Zavir might have planned earlier before the meeting, Eren was encouraged to leave Anfang as soon as possible. The arrangements he and Eren had agreed upon during this meeting would only come into effect after the latter left this world.
Sage Zavir also had some seemingly odd demands.
He told Eren that his reputation as a Ranker needed to be sullied in the eyes of the common populace and Rankers. Even more than what it was at this point. He would be declared a fugitive by the Anfang Alliance after his departure.
The "crimes" he did and the ones he didn't do would be pinned on him. Only then could the Alliance approach Ravendale and strike deals with the White Raven Guild openly post his exit.
Of course, they would portray Eren as the oppressor and the people living in Ravendale as the oppressed. This was so that Rankers from Ravendale wouldn't be discriminated against by others in the future when trades between continents were opened.
Eren was fine with the ill fame as long as it helped him preserve his interests in Anfang. It was not like he was getting praised by the general populace of Arsalan and Katiyal while he was here anyway.
People at the top often cooperated at the expense of their subordinates' emotions. A perfect ruse would be created to justify the actions of the upper echelon. This was the hidden side of politics that the general populace would never be aware of.
Just like Eren had promised to the Amazonians, he was able to get Arslan, Katiyal, and the whole Anfang Alliance to drop their idea of initiating a siege against Ravendale. Things went a lot more smoothly than what Eren had initially predicted.
Might makes right.
Sage Zavir was very cooperative after seeing what Eren could do. One could say that he deserved to be a leader as he knew when to advance and when to retreat.
Eren left just as quietly as he arrived, leaving Zavir and others to handle the rest. He needed to talk with Agatha and others and make them understand the arrangements he had made with Zavir and the Anfang Alliance by proxy.
The world of Anfang would embark on a new journey after Eren's departure. The old setups would eventually be lost in the sands of time. And new political and economic landscapes would be created.
In a way, Anfang was in the process of shedding its old skin. And Eren was the reason for its metamorphosis.
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