Gregory became livid watching Eren.
Eren smiled because he knew the more Gregory insisted on getting rid of him, the safer he would be inside Edinburgh. That's how things work when two kingdoms fight.
Hansen's words proved him right.
"Haha. Serve your royal rats right."
Hansen raised his hands and conjured a giant spectral screen in the air. It showed Grim Pillar Town with its "eye-catching" pillars.
The sight of grim pillars was thought-provoking, to say the least. Some rankers were repulsed by the gruesome display of body parts. Some were fascinated.
The rankers from Edinburgh's side looked at the infiltrators with cruel smiles after looking at Grim Pillar Town's footage. They considered Eren's supposed victory over Layos' royal scions their victory. They also developed a subtle reverence for Eren in their minds.
Gregory regretted bringing the topic up. Hansen blew the whole matter up instead of listening to him.
At the same time, Layos rankers felt an insurmountable shame in their hearts. They felt like someone punched them in the face for breathing too loudly. And then slapped them for their reddened cheeks. Then slapped them again for looking angry.
Even JJ stared at Eren with a peculiar gaze after looking at what his subordinates had done to Layos' royal scions. He could have never imagined that he would meet an Expert ranker like Eren who could keep his cool even after being threatened by a Sage.
JJ was also aware that House Fenris cooperated with the White Raven Guild on some level. Although he wasn't that involved in the Last-Blood Bastion's affairs, he was privy to some well-protected knowledge as a Sage from the same organization. So he pondered a bit before passing on a message to his subordinates.
'My young lions, listen up. We need to avoid harming this lad Eren in battle. Attack him only to put on a show. Do you understand what I mean?'
JJ commanded the half-bloods standing behind him. The young half-bloods didn't know Eren's cooperation with House Fenris. As such, they didn't understand JJ's intentions. Still, nobody challenged his command.
Of course, JJ didn't prevent the half-bloods from confronting Eren outright. He didn't want to reveal Eren's cooperation with the Last Blood Bastion to the audience.
The atmosphere became even more tense and explosive than before after the visuals of Grim Pillar Town. Hansen's voice was loud and proud as he spoke further.
"The kingdom of Edinburgh planned to ask Eren Idril to demolish the grim pillars. But now, we won't do that. Hahaha."
Edinburgh had noticed Eren's Grim Pillar Town. It didn't want to involve itself in the conflict between Eren, House Slughorn, Demonmir's faction, House Remus, and other covert and overt forces against Eren. However, the existence of grim pillars was incompatible with the rankers' code of conduct.
House Slughorn and House Remus were especially angry at Eren for creating Grim Pillar Town. They had sufficient clout inside the royal court to influence its decisions.
The royal court was about to warn Eren, prompting him to demolish the grim pillars and offer proper burials to the victims involved. Or he should give the victims' remains to the respective forces who might claim them.
But Hansen's announcement indicated that the equation had been changed. Edinburgh wanted to use Grim Pillar Town to mock the kingdom of Layos. The butcher welcomed this move with open arms.
Hansen looked at Gregory with a hint of mockery as he spoke.
"I, Hansen Lehan, will announce to all listeners. Eren Elijah Idril and his entire team proved their mettle at the graduation event. Eren Idril dealt specifically with the traitors and infiltrators of the kingdom personally.
Edinburgh will always encourage our young heroes. It will do everything to support their growth.
Our young blood Eren Elijah Idril will be awarded a kingdom bonafide title in a few days.
His guild grounds, including White Raven and Grim Pillar Town, will be given to him as his fief. He won't have to pay taxes to Edinburgh for the income he generates on his fief once the title is officially bestowed upon him."
The butcher raised his eyebrows in surprise when Hansen declared. He wasn't expecting the kingdom to be so generous for something his wife and Argo had done.
The other rankers who stood beside him also looked at him with envy and reverence. They finally had to admit that Eren was an exceptional ranker even among a bunch of exceptions.
Eren flashed a graceful smile and bowed to Hansen even though the Sage had his back turned against him. More than the title and recognition, the butcher liked the tax exemption he was offered.
He could finally start investing his revenue in a better way, which would allow him to grow his city and the guild at the same time. He thanked Gregory for bringing such a topic to Hansen's attention.
Hansen spoke with newfound vigor when he made his next announcement.
"Other young rankers who were part of the graduation event will also be awarded for their accomplishments inside Sansara World and outside it. Especially when dealing with infiltrators. We will also launch a clean-up operation in the kingdom to get rid of the traitors completely.
Edinburgh will also ask the Anfang Alliance to intervene. But that's a separate matter. For now, we have to deal with this mess. We need to get rid of our uninvited guests who have been bothering us for some time now."
Riding on the waves of support and cheer, Hansen decided to taste his might against JJ– his former batchmate who had been turned into a half-blood. A sword with a threatening edge was conjured in his hand as he stepped forward.
JJ sighed at Hansen's aggressive posture. He knew things would progress this way. He stepped forward as well, rotating his fists clockwise and anti-clockwise. The ripples of the bloodline energy started to spread as his body prepared itself for the process of bloodline transformation.
A lion's roar was heard next, injuring everyone's eardrums and affecting their souls.
AN: A small token of appreciation for our privileged readers. Suggest a suitable title for Eren in this chapter's comment section. We have a few days to finalize the title. So take your time. ;)
The most eye-catching and relevant title will get picked from the suggestions. Also, note that only suggestions placed in this chapter's comment section will be considered.
