Chapter 1312: Local Attraction
Writer: StarReader
Proofreader: Silavin
A year back, the Sacred Domain found itself with a giant black hole in its lands. It came out of the blue, erased a fifth of the domain, and it was here to stay.
As with anything new, humans always exercised caution, if not downright paranoia. They avoided paying the ultimate sacrifice when testing the limits of this seemingly benign invasion of nothing.
In the first month, the Sacred Domain got used to its new freeloader. Known figures from all factions got close to measure the impact it might have, good or bad.
Conclusive tests have shown, through the noble self-sacrifice of the most heinous criminals, along with the reckless idiots fancying themselves heroes, any contact would lead to the blackness expanding. The two bodies would merge, all turning into black like tar, conforming to the interlopers shape.
Throughout the following months, the interest in the foreign invader waned, reduced to a tourist attraction by day, and a dumping ground for the unsavory, or power-hungry types. For if one glossed over the heavy loss of millions of acres of mines, forests, farmland, or perhaps potential spirit veins, naturally, they would come to the obvious conclusion on the only practicality this endless black abyss seemed to offer: wiping away any tracks.
It was the cheapest and surest way to remove any and all evidence, tracking or otherwise, from oneself.
In todays age, everyone has gotten their hands dirty. It was more about who had a knack to wipe away the grime that set them apart. Those that could would be hailed by the ignorant as leaders having the masses best interest at heart.
Since there were only so many cells to go around, they were dumped at the nearest disposal site, the blackness, especially the high-profile ones and the rogue ones.
Such was the case today, with a town official appointed directly by the Luo Clan standing before a crowd and conducting the 16th summary execution of the day. They had naturally guards on all sides to make sure nothing happened.
People, we have before us the heinous Black Hand, accused and tried of murder of his own parents, friends. He had stolen from the towns storehouse. He is hereby sentence to liquidation! The town officials droned, bored from doing it for so long as this had lost the flair it had at the beginning.
Liquidation was the term that got around once the people witnessed how the blackness took someone over, looking as if it was sucking the victim dry and replacing it with nothing.
Begin! With the officials last order, the guards dragged a frantic and ragged man, his cultivation sealed, ever closer to the edge of darkness.
Stopping at three meters from it, they hoisted a screaming Black Hand by the clothes and threw him in.
The scarce audience was glad to find a cease to the screaming. It had gotten on their nerves since the early hours of the day when the first case of today started.
Whats that? One bystander cried out, breaking the short silence, and drawing annoyed glares from the others and the town official.
Their panicked and horrified expression painted a different story.